After nine years of continuous employment growth in September, the Greek labor market recorded a mild decline last month, but this is indicative of the strong seasonality as well as the tightness of the labor market.
According to data from the Ergani information system of the Labor Ministry, 9,196 jobs were lost in September 2025. From July to September, employment decreased for three consecutive months – something that had not happened for almost a year.
However, the overall picture is not worrying. The overall balance for the nine months of January-September 2025 remains positive, with the net creation of 308,105 new jobs, which shows that the market is stabilizing, with the decrease in hiring in recent months reflecting more of a transitional period of consolidation.
That is because with the gradual expansion of the digital labor card to almost 265,000 businesses and 1.5 million employees, we now see the numbers reflecting real employment and not just declarations. Therefore, fewer fictitious recruitments appear, and more legal and properly insured jobs.
According to official data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) published on Thursday, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in September stabilized at 8.2%, compared to 9.7% in September 2024 and to the upwardly revised 8.2% in August 2025. The number of employed people amounted to 4,326,322, marking an increase of 59,086 people compared to September 2024 (1.4%).
Despite the negative balance of hiring and firing in the last three months, experts estimate that the market also presents a “positive picture,” that is the implementation of the digital labor card and the legislative provision that provides for cheaper overtime for employers, without employees losing any money, as through them they seem to bring to the legal economy “gray” labor, by limiting undeclared employment and enhancing transparency. This is arguably a small step toward a more honest economy.