Greece’s unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in the second quarter of this year, down from 10.6% in the first quarter and 8.6% in the corresponding period a year ago, according to new data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
As ELSTAT noted, the number of unemployed people in the quarter totalled 379,670, representing a decrease of 25.3% from the previous quarter and 7.8% from a year earlier.
At the same time, the number of employed people in Greece increased to 4,414,364, which was 3.3% higher than in Q1 and 0.6% higher than in the same period a year ago.
Elsewhere, the number of people outside the labour force under the age of 75 fell by 0.9% compared with the previous quarter and by 1.1% year on year.
Unemployment statistics
As the data showed, the unemployment rate among women (10.6%) was higher than among men (5.7%), while younger people continued to record substantially higher rates than older workers, ELSTAT noted.
The rate for people aged 15–19 stood at 25.5%, reflecting the small size of the labour market for that age group, followed by 17.4% of those in the 20-24 age group, and 13.0% of those aged 25-29.
Regional unemployment
On a regional basis, meanwhile, the Ionian Islands recorded the highest unemployment rate in the period, of 13.4%, followed by Western Macedonia (12.7%) and Western Greece (12.4%). The lowest unemployment rate on a regional basis was recorded in Crete, where 4.5% of people were unemployed.
‘In the 2nd quarter of 2026, the majority of the employed are working as employees (72.7%), whereas a significant share is working as self-employed without employees (17.0%),’ ELSTAT noted.
‘Part-time employment amounts to 5.1%, recording an increase by 1.7% compared to the previous quarter and a decrease by 9.5% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The share of persons with temporary jobs is 11.2%, recording an increase of 59.4% compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 3.2% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.’ Read more here.
