Greece’s unemployment rate declined in the second quarter of 2026, while employment edged higher and the number of unfilled jobs increased significantly, according to the latest report by the Budget Office of the Hellenic Parliament.
The report also highlights a persistent gap between women and men in labor-market participation and unemployment, while participation among young people ages 15 to 29 increased slightly over the past year.
Labor-market participation rises slightly
Labor-force participation in Greece reached 61.6% in the second quarter of 2026, up slightly from 61.3% in the same quarter of 2025.
The corresponding rate across the European Union was higher, at 66.1% in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 65.9% a year earlier.
The participation gap between men and women remained substantial. The participation rate was 68.6% for men, compared with 54.8% for women.
Among people ages 15 to 29, labor-market participation increased from 43.4% in the second quarter of 2025 to 43.9% in the second quarter of 2026.
Unemployment falls to 8.3%
According to quarterly Eurostat data cited in the report, Greece’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.3% in the second quarter of 2026, from 9% in the same period a year earlier.
The number of unemployed people fell by 34,000, or 7.9%, to 394,000.
However, unemployment remained significantly higher among women than men. The female unemployment rate was 11.2%, compared with 5.9% for men.
The gap widened over the past year, from 3.6 percentage points in the second quarter of 2025 to 5.3 percentage points in the second quarter of 2026.
Male unemployment fell by 1.5 percentage points over the period, while female unemployment increased slightly by 0.2 percentage points.
Youth unemployment among people ages 15 to 29 also declined slightly, falling to 15.4% in the second quarter of 2026 from 15.7% a year earlier.
Employment increases as full-time jobs grow
The number of employed people reached 4.36 million in the second quarter, an increase of 33,000, or 0.8%, compared with the same period in 2025.
The increase was driven by full-time employment, which grew by 1.2% over the year.
At the same time, part-time employment declined significantly, falling by 9.5%.
Part-time workers accounted for 5.1% of total employment in the second quarter of 2026, down from 5.6% a year earlier. The corresponding rate across the EU was considerably higher, at 18.8%.
New hiring remains positive
Data from Greece’s ERGANI employment information system showed a positive balance of new jobs during the first half of 2026.
The balance between hiring and job losses stood at 336,931 positions, although this was 1.1% lower than in the first half of 2025.
The largest positive employment balances were recorded in accommodation, food-service activities, retail trade and the food industry.
Job vacancies jump 26.8%
At the same time, the number of unfilled positions across the Greek economy rose sharply.
There were 44,732 job vacancies in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 26.8% compared with the same quarter of 2025.
The largest share of vacancies was recorded in accommodation and food services, which accounted for 26.2% of the total.
Other sectors with significant shares of vacancies included public administration, defense and compulsory social security at 11.8%, education at 10.1%, and human health and social work activities at 8.4%.
The figures point to a labor market where unemployment has continued to decline while businesses and public-sector organizations are reporting a growing number of positions that remain unfilled.
