Greece’s workforce faces persistent poverty risk and rising temporary‑employment share

In 2025, 9.7% of Greek workers aged 18‑64 were classified as at risk of poverty while employed, a level above the European Union average of 8.3% and only slightly lower than the 10.1% recorded in 2019. The figure has fallen from a peak of 13.7% in 2009, indicating a long‑term decline but still signalling a serious labour‑market challenge for Greece.

According to Eurostat data, 6.8% of Greek employees aged 20‑64 hold fixed‑term or other forms of partial‑time contracts, a share lower than the EU‑wide temporary‑employment rate of 9.9% (10.4% in the euro area). Women are disproportionately affected: 8.7% of employed women have such contracts compared with 4.9% of men. By contrast, the highest temporary‑employment rates in the EU are found in the Netherlands (18.7%), Cyprus (13.2%) and Spain and Portugal (12.8%).