Greece is grappling with a profound economic paradox as 2026 begins: while the nation’s topline gross domestic product continues to expand, the standard of living for its workforce is plummeting toward the bottom of European Union rankings, according to a report released Wednesday.
Carried out by the Labor Institute of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), the interim report on the Greek economy for 2025 paints a stark picture of “growth without prosperity.” Despite significant increases in nominal wages over recent years, the report finds that once adjusted for the actual cost of living – measured in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) – Greek workers earn substantially less than their peers in Western Europe and even neighboring Balkan nations.
The data reveal a steady erosion of Greece’s relative economic standing. In 2024, the average annual wage in Greece stood at just 59.1% of the EU average, a sharp decline from 61.2% in 2019 and a staggering drop from the 91.8% recorded in 2009.
Labor researchers attribute this divergence to structural weaknesses, including a fragile manufacturing base and an over-reliance on poorly paid service sectors. This lack of high-productivity industrial jobs has created a systemic investment gap, preventing GDP growth from translating into real purchasing power for employees.
“Due to institutional and developmental bottlenecks, Greece is falling significantly behind even Central and Eastern European member states across a range of critical labor market indicators,” the GSEE researchers noted.
The disparity is most visible in hourly remuneration. In terms of purchasing power, the average hourly wage in Greece was 11.3 units in 2024, compared to 15.3 in Central and Eastern Europe and 18.1 in the Balkans.
This financial squeeze has also triggered a social crisis. Roughly 21% of Greek wage earners live in conditions of material and social deprivation, a rate 12.6 percentage points higher than the EU average. Furthermore, housing costs have become nearly unsustainable, as the average Greek household now spends 35.5% of its disposable income on housing, the highest share in the EU. For single-person households, that figure exceeds 51%.
The report concludes that without a strategic shift toward productive investment and a stronger manufacturing pillar, Greece’s recovery will remain a “statistical success” that fails to reach the pockets of its citizens.