Greece's commerce sector shrinks 12% 

(MENAFN) The National Confederation of Greek Commerce's (ESEE) president, Vassilis Korkidis, stated that during the current year, the country's commerce sector contracted by around 12 percent, reported Xinhua News.

Korkidis said that the drop, which represents 93,000 job losses, resulted from the fall in sales and profits; with 6 out of 10 businesses struggling to meet payments in 2012.

The sector takes in 18 percent of the country's total working force, however, at the current time; the number of people working in it is less than 700,000.

ESEE's survey shows that 7 out of 10 businesses expect extra slowdown in their revenues next year and fear further closure.

Since the start of the debt crisis in late 2009, around 60,000 small companies have closed down, and another 60,000 are forecasted to follow.

It is worth noting that currently, Greece's unemployment rate exceeds 25 percent, and the level is expected to grow further.