Greece’s Job Market Bolstered by Low-Paying Service Sector

According to official data from Greece (ERGANI information system), the start of Greece’s tourism season has led to a hiring spree for roles such as waitstaff, housekeepers, cooks, receptionists, and dishwashers, leading to the creation of 133,907 new jobs.

This is the highest recorded figure for the month of April since 2001, at which point data began being collected, according to a piece by Kostas Papadis. Papadis says the figures signal both another successful tourist season and positive developments in the Greek economy.

Two out of three of the new jobs were full-time positions, while the majority of new hires were women and young people.

During the first four months of 2025, job announcements totaled 1,011,567, while departures reached 824,504. Of those, 480,513 were due to terminations of indefinite or fixed-term contracts, and 343,991 were voluntary resignations.

The quality of employment also shows a positive trend, as 64.62% of new contracts (228,192) were full-time positions. This is attributed both to incentives for full-time hiring and to the difficulty employers face in filling vacancies, prompting them to prioritize full-time over part-time or undeclared and underinsured work. In total, 98,040 part-time hires were recorded (27.77%), along with 26,881 rotational work contracts (7.61%).

Considering the period from 2020–2024, Greece’s National Statistics Authority (ELSTAT) also found that the top-performing sectors in terms of job growth were retail, tourism, and food services, which together accounted for over 50% of the 475,897 new jobs created during that time. The statistical authority notes that 254,475 new salaried positions were created in these three sectors alone, compared to the total employment increase of 475,897 across the economy. This means that 53% of all new jobs from 2020 to 2024 came from these three industries.

Meanwhile, in April, unemployment returned to November 2008 levels, dropping to 8.3%, down 0.6 points from 8.9% in March. According to ELSTAT’s monthly labor force survey for April 2025, the unemployment decrease is evident across all age groups and is significantly lower than in April 2024. Among men, unemployment now stands at 6.3% (down from 8.5% in April 2024), among women it fell to 10.8% (from 13.6%), and among youth aged 15–24, it declined to 20.4% (from 24.2% a year ago).

While the data is clearly a positive development for Greece, a fuller picture of employment in Greece shows that the country leads the EU in longterm unemployment, that its youth face exploitation and low wages, and the accommodation and food services sectors are among the lowest paying sectors in Greece and the EU.

Source: Tovima.com