With small businesses folding at an unprecedented rate, around 200,000 jobs have been lost or are threatened in the country since the beginning of the year, according to a recent survey, which had no specific figures for Crete.

The survey, conducted by the small enterprises’ institute of the General Confederation of Small Manufacturers and Traders of Greece (GSEVEE), focused on problems facing small enterprises in times of the financial crunch and showed that job losses in the last six months totaled 85,250 throughout the country, while it predicted that another 90,000-100,000 job positions could be threatened by the end of the year.

The survey also showed that 72 percent of enterprises reported a significant decline in demand despite the fact that 90 percent of them kept or lowered their prices and services this year, compared with 2008.

Meanwhile, in reinforcement of the GSEVEE survey, Greece's largest Union group, General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) issued the results of its own survey which states data underestimate unemployment; and that recovery should not be expected until 2011.

The report by the union, which represents some two million private sector workers, showed that unemployment is expected to shoot up to 17.3 percent in 2010, from 8.6 percent currently, and that it's "not seen returning to pre-crisis levels until 2015."