The Greek prime minister has called for more jobs to be created and protected in the new year as he looks to drag the recession ridden country back into a positive way of life.

Lucas Papademos, who took over from the shamed George Papandreou recently, has said that in order for the Greek economy to recover, there needs to be 150,000 jobs created and protected over the first quarter of 2012, according to the Express in Greece.

Meetings with head government officials and other groups have led to the prime minister announcing that there will be a new employment program in the country.

"Our country is waging two battles, the first is for fiscal reform and a restructuring of the economy, and the other is society's battle against the concequences of the crisis -- unemployment and protection of social cohesion," Mr Papademos said.

It was reported last week that migrants are leaving Greece in record numbers to find work abroad.

Posted by Lee Thrace