Well-paid jobs remain fairly scarce

The Greek labor market suffers from a severe shortage of well-paid positions. While significant progress has recently been made in reducing unemployment and poverty wages, there has been no progress at the top of the salary pyramid.

According to official data from the “Ergani” system, while in 2013 – a nightmare year with only 1.37 million workers in the private sector – those who received a gross salary of more than 1,500 euros corresponded to 20% of the total, in 2023, with number of employees increased by over 900,000 people, those above the barrier of €1,500 now correspond to 18.9% of the total. Just 433,077 people out of a total of 2.3 million have gross earnings of more than €1,500, according to official figures from the Ministry of Labor. This wage limit is an amount that excludes you from most social benefits, while limiting the “net” to €1,148 due to a higher tax rate and social security contributions.

The increase in wages and employment – which requires the “activation” of the economically inactive population and the import of workers from abroad – is presented by the government as the best solution to deal with inflation and to increase national income.