Stavros Rodokanakis and Vasileios A Vlachos 2012 IJES VOL 20, NO 2 Page 90 ASSESSING THE PROBABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT IN GREECE BETWEEN THE 2004 OLYMPICS AND THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS: THE CASES OF THE NORTHERN AEGEAN AND IONIAN ISLANDS Stavros Rodokanakis University of Bath, England Vasileios A Vlachos University of Macedonia, Greece ABSTRACT This study investigates the probability of employment in the Greek regions of the Northern Aegean and the Ionian islands in 2006, when Greece exhibited the highest GDP growth rate (purchasing power standards) since the introduction of the euro, and a year before the eruption of the financial crisis which transformed into an economic and sovereign debt crisis with unprecedented ĐoŶseƋueŶĐes iŶ the ĐouŶtƌy’s post-war economic history. Based on data from the Labour Force Survey, the analysis depicts the impact of gender, age, marital status, area of residence, level of education and immigrant status on the prospects of finding a job. The findings indicate the existence of gender differences and the vulnerable position of job-seeking youths. Finally, regional differences are present only in the case of educational level completed or area of residence. INTRODUCTION The aim of the paper is to study the impact that various social and demographic characteristics had on the labour market in the Greek regions of the Northern Aegean and Ionian Islands, two well known international tourist destinations, in 2006 — the year before the global financial crisis of 2007-09. The year 2006 is well after the Athens 2004 Olympics and its fiscal stimulus, and before the eruption of the financial crisis that developed into an economic and sovereign debt crisis. The changing prospects of employment in the Greek labour market can be seen even during the period of rapid economic growth and in any case before the recent debt and economic crisis of Greece. The main questions to be answered are: i. what are the social and demographic characteristics that increase the chances of someone in the examined population finding a job? ii. whether University graduates face greater difficulties in finding a job than non-University degree holders; this issue is of great importance,