Greece Struggles to Meet Labour Demand, Recruits Only 25% of Needed Foreign Workers for 2025

Key Highlights

1. Greece has secured 90,000 foreign workers for 2025.

2. This accounts for just 25% of the 360,000 total workers needed this year.

3. Labour shortages are most prominent in tourism, catering, agriculture, and construction.

Greece Fills Just a Quarter of Its Foreign Worker Demand for 2025

Greece is expected to fill only one in four vacant positions in 2025, as the government has managed to attract just a quarter of the foreign labour force needed to meet market demands.

According to local media, approximately 90,000 foreign workers have entered the country this year—only 25% of the required 360,000 workforce. These workers are primarily employed in critical sectors such as tourism, catering, agriculture, and construction. The tourism sector is especially vital to Greece, contributing around 10% to its GDP.

Efforts to Address the Labour Shortage

To meet labour demands, Greek authorities have undertaken several initiatives. A notable agreement with India aimed to bring 50,000 Indian workers into Greece by the end of the summer, with transfers occurring on a rolling basis. This is one of multiple bilateral efforts targeting third-country nationals to fill roles in priority sectors.

During 2023–2024, Greece identified a need for 147,925 foreign workers, followed by an additional 32,517 approved worker transfers in 2024.

Most of the positions targeted unskilled and semi-skilled workers such as land labourers, construction workers, machine operators, factory employees, and office staff. Nearly half of the approved roles—42,520 out of 89,290—were seasonal.

Greece’s 2025 Employment Forecast by Skill Level

For 2025, Greece aims to fill 89,290 positions through foreign workers in three main employment categories:

• Dependent employment: 41,670 jobs (46.7% of total)

• Seasonal employment: 45,670 jobs

• Highly-skilled employment: 2,000 jobs

In addition, up to 3,000 foreign workers may be employed in manufacturing, while 1,430 could be placed in the food processing industry—including olive mills and cheese factories. Around 2,500 roles are designated for the healthcare and eldercare sectors.