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The Greek statistical service ELSTAT has announced the data on the economic situation of the country which show that incomes in Greece decreased by 75% compared with 2008 and that they reached the level of 2002. Investment, production and consumption in the country recorded a sharp decrease too. Although this year's recession will be lower than expected, namely about 3.8% instead of 4.5%, the government believes that Greece will emerge from it only after 6 years. The gross domestic product fell by 21%, or 50 billion euro, in comparison with 2008.
    The data also show that investments in the second quarter of 2013 amounted only to 5.35 billion euro whereas they amounted to 9.39 billion euro in the second quarter of 2010 and to 12.86 billion euro in the same period in 2008. I.e. the decline is 43% in comparison with 2010 and 58.4% in comparison with 2008. At the same time, there was a decline in production in all industries and the situation in the construction sector was the most dramatic as it declined by 70%. The gross value added in the second quarter of 2013 was 37.18 billion euro which is a 15.8% decrease in comparison with the same period in 2010 and 21.7% in comparison with 2008. The decrease in construction is 43.7% and 70.2% respectively.
    Wholesale and retail rank second in terms of the negative impact of the economic crisis as the gross value added in these sectors shrank by 39.9% in comparison with the second quarter of 2008 and by 29.5% in comparison with 2010. It amounted to 7.89 billion euro in absolute terms and to 13.12 billion euro in 2008. Professional, administrative, scientific and technical services rank third as they decreased by 28.3% in comparison with the second quarter of 2008 and by 28.1% in comparison with 2010.

    People’s incomes are declining along with production too. Income from wages decreased by 32% in comparison with 2008, amounting to 14.24% euro, which is approximately the value of wages in the economy in 2002, namely 14 billion euro. In addition, the unemployment rate is increasing along with the decline in wages. Thus, the incomes in the industries with the highest unemployment rate such as construction, for example, fell by 75.1%. Their value now is 280 million euro whereas it was 1.12 billion euro in the second quarter of 2008. The data show a 33.6% decrease in the wages in wholesale and retail and their amount in the second quarter of 2013 was 3.18 billion euro.
    The incomes in the field of real estate fell by 39.9%, in mining and metalworking by 42.7% and by 29.6% in finance and insurance. By comparison, the reduction in the income of public sector employees who go on strike and protest most frequently is relatively low, 23.5%, in comparison with the second quarter of 2008.
    Naturally, a decline in household consumption has been registered as well. This year it is 26.9% lower than in the second quarter of 2008. The absolute value spent by the Greek consumers in the second quarter of 2013 was 28.33 billion euro in comparison with 38.76 billion euro in 2008. ELSTAT notes that the decreased consumption is due to both the reduction in income and the increases in taxes.
    Exports, which have registered growth over the past two years, are still lagging behind 2008 levels. The Greek companies exported goods worth 10.69 billion euro in the second quarter of 2013 which is 17.5% less than the value of goods exported during the same period in 2008. At the same time, the costs of imports reported a decrease too, as they amounted to 10.79 billion euro in the second quarter of 2013 compared with 20.81 billion euro during the same period in 2008, which is a 48.2% decline.