Foreign workers leave Greece, exacerbating labor shortage

Greece's labor market is grappling with a stark contradiction: businesses report increasing difficulty finding personnel and a rise in job vacancies, while the workforce shrinks. This decline is attributed not only to demographic aging but also to a significant exodus of foreign workers who traditionally filled crucial roles.

A recent study by the Center of Economic and Public Policy (KEPE) highlights that the problem extends beyond new job creation; it's also about the departure of those who could fill existing positions. By the end of 2025, job vacancies in the Greek economy surpassed 31,000. The most acute shortages are in education, followed by health, social welfare, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail trade. The annual increase of approximately 2,700 vacancies may signal a reversal of a previous downward trend.

Simultaneously, the pool of available workers is diminishing. Greece's total population decreased by 12,700 in a year, primarily due to a mass departure of foreign nationals. KEPE's analysis of Labor Force Survey data reveals a staggering 51.4% drop in the foreign population within a single year, with women experiencing a sharper decline (-55.3%) than men (-46.5%).

This trend is a dramatic shift from the past. In 2008, before the economic crisis, foreigners constituted 6% of the population and 8.2% of the workforce. Today, these figures have fallen to 2.2% and 2.9% respectively, with the total foreign population reduced by over 65%. The foreign labor force has shrunk by 74,400 in one year, leaving just 97,500. Legally employed foreigners decreased by 53,000 (37.1%).

Conversely, the increase in overall employment by 73,700 is solely due to Greek workers, who grew by 126,600. This means that without the rise in Greek employment, the labor market would have contracted. The growth in the labor force itself is also driven exclusively by increased participation from Greek citizens.