Unemployment at 15-year low

Unemployment has returned to a single-digit rate for the first time in 15 years, as on Wednesday the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) recorded a jobless rate of 9.6% in June, compared to 11.4% in June 2023.

Although we will have to wait for the seasonally adjusted data to statistically verify the positive climate in which the Greek labor market seems to be moving, the ELSTAT data show not only a decrease in unemployment but also an increase in employment. It should be noted that in October 2023, ELSTAT had initially observed a drop in unemployment below the psychological limit of 10%, but the seasonally adjusted results overturned the picture. Therefore, based on the official data, the last time unemployment was below 10%, specifically at 9.3%, was in September 2009.

Figures show a significant drop in the unemployment rate by 1.8 percentage points compared to June 2023 and 0.7 points from 10.3% in the previous month (May).

While the number of unemployed is decreasing, that of employed people is increasing. A drop has also been observed in people aged up to 75 who are not looking for work, but at a slower pace than in previous months, which resulted in a rise in unemployment, as many moved from the inactive population to the unemployed population.

According to ELSTAT, the unemployed fell to 456,663 people
in June, marking a decrease of 85,865 compared to June 2023 (-15.8%) and 30,629 compared to May 2024 (-6.3%).

Conversely, the employed amounted to 4,293,899 people, marking an increase of 79,229 compared to June 2023 (+1.9%) and 41,192 compared to May 2024 (+1%). As for people under the age of 75 who are not included in the labor force, or “people outside the labor force” – i.e. those who do not work but are not looking for work – they amounted to 3,027,673, marking a decrease of 16,999 compared to June 2023 (-0.6%) and 12,838 compared to May 2024 (-0.4%). However, the number of employed people is still lower by at least 300,000 compared to 2009.