Greece Faces Labour Shortage: 75% of Foreign Worker Needs Unmet for 2025
Greece Faces Major Labor Shortage in 2025, Struggles to Fill Vacancies
Greece is expected to fill only one out of every four vacant job positions in 2025, as efforts to attract the necessary foreign workforce have fallen short. This growing labor gap is affecting key sectors like tourism, agriculture, construction, and hospitality, which are vital to the country’s economy. Tourism alone contributes nearly 10% of Greece’s GDP, making the shortage particularly alarming.
What Steps Has Greece Taken to Attract Foreign Workers?
In response to rising labor demands, Greek authorities have taken active steps to recruit foreign workers. One of the most significant moves was a bilateral agreement with India, allowing up to 50,000 Indian nationals to work in Greece. The implementation of this agreement was scheduled to begin by summer 2025, with worker transfers expected to continue throughout the year.
Greece has also pursued similar cooperation agreements with other non-EU (third) countries, particularly targeting workers for:
- Tourism and catering
- Construction
- Agriculture and farming
Workforce Needs from 2023 to 2025
During the two-year period of 2023–2024, Greece identified a need for 147,925 foreign workers to address labor shortages. In addition, a separate decision in 2024 authorized another 32,517 workers from third countries to enter the labor market.
Most of these positions were allocated to unskilled or semi-skilled workers, including:
- Land and farm laborers
- Construction workers
- Machine operators
- Factory workers
- Office assistants
Out of the total, 42,520 jobs were seasonal, underscoring the country’s reliance on short-term labor.
2025 Labor Demand: Over 89,000 Jobs Available
In 2025, Greece has set a formal quota of 89,290 jobs for foreign nationals under three categories:
- Dependent Employment:
- 41,670 positions (46.7%)
- Includes general workforce needs across industries
- Seasonal Employment:
- 45,670 positions
- Primarily for agriculture and tourism
- Highly Skilled Employment:
- Around 2,000 positions
- Includes healthcare, IT, and technical sectors
Additional labor needs include:
- 3,000 workers in manufacturing
- 1,430 factory workers for food processing, olive oil production, and dairy industries
- 2,500 caregivers in healthcare and home care sectors
Outlook
Despite government initiatives, Greece still faces a pressing labor shortage in 2025. Without accelerated recruitment efforts and faster integration of foreign workers, essential industries may continue to suffer disruptions.
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