Unemployment in Greece in 2026

Unemployment trends in Greece
1. Comparing Greece to other European countries
2. Unemployment in Greek regions
Youth unemployment in Greece
1. Youth unemployment compared to other EU countries
Unemployment (men/women) in Greece
Long-term unemployment in Greece
1. Long-term unemployment in European Union countries

Number of job seekers	% of the working population	% of the youth population (15-24 years)
394,000 (-48000)	8.3 %	18.4 %
Source: ESTAT - Last updated: 10 September, 2026

In the second quarter of 2026, there were in Greece 394,000 unemployed people, a decrease of -0.9 % compared to the previous period. They represent 8.3 % of the active population, while the average unemployment rate in the European Union (27 countries) is 6.1 %, a difference of 2.2 points.

Unemployment trends in Greece

Change in unemployment in Greece between 2010 and 2026 expressed as a percentage of the active population, compared to the European Union average (EU27_2020). Seasonally adjusted quarterly data.

Data table for Quarterly evolution of unemployment in Greece
Category	EL (Greece)	CY (Cyprus)	EU27_2020 (European Union)
2010-Q1	11.4	6.9	10.1
2010-Q2	12.5	6.7	10.1
2010-Q3	13.4	6.1	10
2010-Q4	14.4	5.6	10
2011-Q1	15.7	7	9.9
2011-Q2	17	7.5	9.9
2011-Q3	18.8	8.1	10.1
2011-Q4	20.9	9.3	10.4
2012-Q1	22.4	10.3	10.7
2012-Q2	24.3	11.4	11
2012-Q3	25.9	12.4	11.2
2012-Q4	26.6	13.4	11.4
2013-Q1	27.4	15	11.7
2013-Q2	27.9	15.6	11.7
2013-Q3	28.1	16.3	11.5
2013-Q4	27.8	16.6	11.4
2014-Q1	27.3	16.1	11.4
2014-Q2	27	15.9	11
2014-Q3	26.4	16.2	10.9
2014-Q4	26	16.5	10.8
2015-Q1	25.7	16.5	10.6
2015-Q2	25	15.1	10.3
2015-Q3	24.8	14.8	10
2015-Q4	24.3	13.2	9.9
2016-Q1	24.2	13.1	9.6
2016-Q2	23.9	12.7	9.4
2016-Q3	23.8	13.1	9.1
2016-Q4	23.5	13.1	8.9
2017-Q1	22.9	12.4	8.7
2017-Q2	22.1	11.4	8.3
2017-Q3	21.3	10.3	8.2
2017-Q4	21.2	10.3	7.9
2018-Q1	20.6	9.7	7.7
2018-Q2	19.9	7.9	7.5
2018-Q3	19.5	8.2	7.2
2018-Q4	19	7.9	7.2
2019-Q1	19	7.9	7
2019-Q2	17.7	7	6.8
2019-Q3	17.6	7.1	6.8
2019-Q4	17.1	6.6	6.7
2020-Q1	16.7	6.8	6.6
2020-Q2	19.3	7.1	7
2020-Q3	17.2	8.2	7.9
2020-Q4	17.3	8.2	7.5
2021-Q1	16.5	7.8	7.6
2021-Q2	15.6	7.9	7.3
2021-Q3	13.9	6.6	6.9
2021-Q4	13.2	6.4	6.5
2022-Q1	13.2	5.9	6.3
2022-Q2	12.4	6.4	6.2
2022-Q3	12.3	6.3	6.2
2022-Q4	11.9	6.6	6.1
2023-Q1	11.2	6.1	6.1
2023-Q2	11.3	5.8	6
2023-Q3	11.2	5.6	6.1
2023-Q4	10.6	5.4	6.1
2024-Q1	11.3	5.2	6.1
2024-Q2	10	4.9	6
2024-Q3	9.5	4.5	6
2024-Q4	9.7	4.6	5.9
2025-Q1	9.2	4.6	6
2025-Q2	9	4.5	6
2025-Q3	9	4.2	6.1
2025-Q4	8.6	4.1	6
2026-Q1	9.2	3.7	6
2026-Q2	8.3	3.7	6.1

Eurostat defines an unemployed person as: any person aged 15 to 74 (16 to 74 in Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom) who was not employed during the reference week, had actively sought work in the past four weeks and was ready to start work immediately or within two weeks.

Comparing Greece to other European countries

Unemployment in different EU countries in the 2nd quarter of 2026.

Data table for Unemployment rates in different EU countries, ranked in ascending order.
Category
CZ	3
MT	3.3
BG	3.4
PL	3.4
CY	3.7
NL	3.9
DE	4
SI	4
HU	4.5
NO	4.6
IE	5
PT	5.5
SK	5.7
IT	5.8
AT	5.9
EU27_2020	6.1
BE	6.2
LT	6.4
EE	6.6
RO	6.7
DK	6.9
LV	6.9
LU	7.1
EL	8.3
FR	8.3
SE	8.6
ES	10.2
FI	10.5

At second quarter of 2026, with unemployment at 8.3 %, Greece ranks 5th in the order of the European Union countries with the highest rate of unemployed.

Unemployment in Greek regions

Unemployment rates in Greece by region as a percentage of the active population (data 2025).

Data table for Unemployment rates in Greek regions.
Category
Greece	8.9
Attiki	8.1
Voreio Aigaio	6.4
Notio Aigaio	7.3
Kriti	5.1
Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki	10.6
Kentriki Makedonia	11.7
Dytiki Makedonia	15.3
Ipeiros	9.9
Thessalia	6.3
Ionia Nisia	9
Dytiki Elláda	9.7
Sterea Elláda	8.5
Peloponnisos	8.3

Within the country, significant inequalities exist between the different Greek regions. The unemployment rate in "Dytiki Makedonia", which has the highest rate (15.3 %), is 3 times the rate in "Kriti", which is the region with the lowest unemployment rate in Greece (5.1 %).

Youth unemployment in Greece

Evolution of youth unemployment (15-24 years) in Greece between 2010 and 2026, expressed as a percentage of the active population, compared to the European Union average (EU27_2020). Seasonally adjusted quarterly data.

Data table for Quarterly evolution of youth unemployment in Greece in 2026
Category	EL (Greece)	CY (Cyprus)	EU27_2020 (European Union)
2010-Q1	30	20.2	22.6
2010-Q2	32.5	18.5	22.6
2010-Q3	34.8	13	22.3
2010-Q4	37.4	14.6	22.2
2011-Q1	39.9	20.4	22.4
2011-Q2	43.8	20.6	22.2
2011-Q3	47.2	22.4	22.5
2011-Q4	50	26.3	23.1
2012-Q1	51.6	26.4	23.7
2012-Q2	54.7	25.8	24.1
2012-Q3	58.4	26.5	24.6
2012-Q4	59	32.3	25.3
2013-Q1	59.4	37	25.5
2013-Q2	60.4	40.1	25.1
2013-Q3	59.8	38.8	25.1
2013-Q4	57.4	39.7	25
2014-Q1	55.3	39.1	24.9
2014-Q2	52.9	37.1	24.2
2014-Q3	51.9	33.6	23.8
2014-Q4	51.9	34	23.5
2015-Q1	50.3	36.5	23
2015-Q2	49.7	31.6	22.5
2015-Q3	51.5	32.5	22.2
2015-Q4	49.9	29.8	21.9
2016-Q1	50.3	29.1	21.3
2016-Q2	49.9	26.6	20.9
2016-Q3	47	30.4	20.5
2016-Q4	45.6	30.1	20.1
2017-Q1	45.6	26.2	19.3
2017-Q2	45.2	25.3	18.9
2017-Q3	43.1	24.2	18.1
2017-Q4	44.1	23.1	17.9
2018-Q1	43.6	24.9	17.3
2018-Q2	40.2	17.9	16.8
2018-Q3	39.6	17.1	16.6
2018-Q4	41.3	20.8	16.3
2019-Q1	39.8	20.9	16.1
2019-Q2	36.3	16.4	15.7
2019-Q3	37.8	17.2	15.4
2019-Q4	36.2	15.9	15.6
2020-Q1	33.9	12.2	15.7
2020-Q2	40.8	17.3	17.7
2020-Q3	38.9	20.2	19
2020-Q4	38.3	20.8	18.1
2021-Q1	40.8	20.3	18.4
2021-Q2	37.6	17	17.6
2021-Q3	32.8	14.6	15.8
2021-Q4	30.9	17.5	15
2022-Q1	32.9	17.1	14.4
2022-Q2	32	17.1	14.6
2022-Q3	32	19.1	14.8
2022-Q4	28.5	19.1	14.5
2023-Q1	25.3	15.8	14.2
2023-Q2	26.7	15.1	14.5
2023-Q3	27	17.7	14.6
2023-Q4	27.9	17.5	15
2024-Q1	24.4	15.7	14.8
2024-Q2	24.7	14.4	14.8
2024-Q3	18.2	12.3	15.3
2024-Q4	22.4	9.6	14.8
2025-Q1	20	10.9	15.2
2025-Q2	18.2	15.1	15
2025-Q3	20.8	13.2	15.3
2025-Q4	17.7	14.8	15.5
2026-Q1	23.1	12.8	15.5
2026-Q2	18.4	12.4	15.6

There were 47,000 young people aged from 15 to 25 years who were unemployed in the second quarter of 2026 in Greece, representing 18.4 % of the active population in this age group, while the European average (EU 27 countries) stood at 15.6 %, a difference of 2.8 points.

Youth unemployment compared to other EU countries

Unemployment among young people under 25 in different EU countries in the 2nd quarter of 2026.

Data table for Youth unemployment rates in different EU countries, ranked in ascending order.
Category
MT	6.8
DE	7.3
NL	8.6
AT	9.7
CZ	10.4
PL	11.8
IE	12
BG	12.2
LT	12.2
CY	12.4
NO	13
HU	13.9
SI	14.1
LV	14.5
DK	15.2
EU27_2020	15.6
IT	18.2
EL	18.4
SK	18.4
BE	19.6
PT	19.6
FR	21.6
FI	23.2
ES	23.9
SE	24.9
RO	30.7

At second quarter of 2026, with a youth unemployment rate of 18.4 %, Greece ranks 9^th in the order of the European Union countries with the highest rate of unemployed.

Unemployment (men/women) in Greece

Unemployment rate (men/women) in Greece in 2026.

Data table for Chart
Label	Value
Males	39.086294416244
Females	60.913705583756

There were 154,000 men and 240,000 women who were unemployed in Greece in the 2nd quarter of 2026, representing 5.9 % of the male labor force and 11.2 % of the female labor force respectively, a difference of 5.3 points between the two sexes. Of all job seekers, women accounted for 60.91 % and men for 39.09 %.

Long-term unemployment in Greece

Long-term unemployment refers to individuals who have been unemployed for an extended period, typically defined as 12 months or more (Eurostat). These individuals often face greater challenges in finding new employment due to skill deterioration, employer biases, and other factors. In Greece, long-term unemployment has been a significant issue, particularly following the economic crisis of the late 2000s.

Evolution of long-term unemployment in Greece between 2010 and 2025, expressed as a percentage of job seekers.

Data table for Chart
Category	EL (Greece)	CY (Cyprus)	EU27_2020 (European Union)
2010	40.2	20.4	39.3
2011	44.3	20.8	42.5
2012	53	30.1	44
2013	60.1	38.3	46.8
2014	65.8	47.7	48.9
2015	65.5	45.6	47.8
2016	64.6	44.4	46.2
2017	65.3	40.6	44.4
2018	63.2	31.7	42.4
2019	63	30.4	39.4
2020	59.7	29.2	33.7
2021	62.3	35.4	39.1
2022	61.9	33.2	38.6
2023	56	31.7	35.1
2024	53.6	27.8	32.4
2025	55.8	20.8	31.5

There were 236,000 long-term unemployed people in Greece in 2025, representing 55.8 % of unemployment and 5 % of the active population, while the European average (EU 27 countries) stood at 31.5 % of job seekers and 1.9 % of the active population, a difference of 3.1 points.

Long-term unemployment in European Union countries

Long-term unemployment in different EU countries in 2025.

Data table for Long-term unemployment rates in different EU countries, ranked in ascending order.
Category
NL	13.7
DK	14.1
NO	15.3
MT	20
SE	20.5
CY	20.8
FR	23
AT	23.2
IE	23.4
EE	23.8
FI	25.1
PL	26.3
DE	27.9
SI	28.8
CZ	30
LU	30.6
EU27_2020	31.5
BE	31.6
ES	32.1
HU	33.2
LV	33.7
RO	35.1
LT	36
PT	36.8
BG	42.3
IT	50.3
EL	55.8
SK	63.4

In 2025, with the long-term unemployment at 55.8 %, Greece ranks 2th in the order of the European Union countries with the highest rate.