Greek barista Kyriakos Gianichronis reads the newspaper headlines about his country's new economic upturn after years of recession, but he doesn't feel the wealth.
The resident of Athens only has about 150 euros at the end of the month, despite paying relatively low rent and earning slightly above the minimum wage.
Many Greeks face similar challenges - which is why Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to announce new aid in a keynote speech this weekend.
“I'm pretty responsible for what I make, but ... it's just on the up and up. And the amount we get is roughly the same every year," Giannichronis told AFP.
"Things look like they're getting better, but we don't feel it," the 27-year-old said.
Living standards in Greece remain low despite the Mediterranean country's significant recovery, which has seen the economy grow by 2% - a faster rate than in much of Europe.
The reason for the problem is that Greece has significant catching up to do after almost a decade of economic crisis and pandemic recession.
The economy "is growing and all the right measures lead to improvement, but starting from a very low base," explained economist Nikos Vetas.
"Even if there is an increase now, this improvement is not enough to catch up," said Vettas, who heads the Greek Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research IOBE think-tank.
Housing and food prices have risen because of inflation, which is only now coming down.
"The cost of living has actually offset some of the wage growth we've had, and as a result, real incomes for many households are suffering," Vettas said.
Mitsotakis's conservative government, which is slumping in opinion polls, blames the high cost of living on a sharp rise in energy prices that followed the war in Ukraine.
His New Democracy party currently receives around 22% support - a far cry from the 40.56% it won in last year's election.
Mitsotakis is expected to announce a new round of aid at the prime minister's annual economic speech in Thessaloniki this weekend.
"Life is Expensive"
Last year, the country of just over 10 million people had the second lowest GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power within the European Union.
Eurostat found that in 2023 the average annual income in Greece will be half the European average. The minimum wage in Greece is 830 euros, about 900 euros below that in France.
"And how will you live if you have to rent a house with 500 euros?" asks the hairdresser from Athens, Christina Massiou.
"Life is so expensive that you can't set aside money for emergencies," added the 24-year-old woman.
Last month, the economy ministry reported that household net disposable income has risen in recent years, putting Greece in 16th place in the European Union.
The data confirm "the significant progress our country has made over the past five years," the ministry said in a statement.
But the department admitted that this was no cause for celebration or reason to "underestimate the real difficulties that many of our fellow citizens face".
It is obvious that Greece has not turned into Switzerland or Sweden.
Economist Vettas noted that some sectors fared better than others.
"In the last three or four years, we've seen a sharp increase in wages in occupations that require some experience," he said.
But for those employed in a sector such as the hotel and restaurant industry - a large industry in Greece - the situation is not improving.
Barista Gianichronis tries to keep calm about the economic situation, even though he constantly has to think about money.
“I'm not angry because it wouldn't do me any good. Things are what they are. We can't change much," he said.
What it can control is how we budget our own expenses and help our friends manage theirs better, the man added. | BGNES
