In Greek economy’s vicious cycle, workers lose most

This article was published by Al Jazeera International. 

ATHENS, Greece -- Out of money and out of time, Alexandros Mnimatidis is a product of his generation. He cannot afford to attend the robotics degree he enrolled in because he also needs to work and contribute to his parents’ household budget. But without that degree, it’ll be difficult for him to rise above the retail work he now does for $4.78 an hour. 

“At the present rate,” he says, “it’ll take me another ten years to graduate. I’ll be 35, and at that age it’ll be really difficult to find a job in my area of expertise.”

If he fails to obtain a university education, Mnimatidis may eventually join the ranks of Greece’s working poor – people who cannot improve their socio-economic position, no matter how hard they work.