Greece continues to face significant challenges in increasing wage levels across its workforce, despite moderate improvements in recent years.
According to 2023 data, the average adjusted gross annual salary for full-time employment was €17,013, placing Greece third from the bottom among EU member states, ahead only of Bulgaria and Hungary. In small enterprises employing fewer than ten people, the average monthly wage was reported at just €1,099 in 2024. The highest average salaries are found in the finance sector (€2,626), followed by energy (€2,490), information technology (€2,232), research (€2,108), and the pharmaceutical industry (€2,050).
While the minimum wage has increased by 5.9% since 2000, the average wage remains 12.4% lower than it was at the start of the millennium. In 2009, the average salary stood at €1,460—the level Greece now aims to reach again by 2027.
According to the Greek Government database Ergani, most private sector employees (462,644) earn between €1,001 and €1,200 per month, while another 357,832 receive between €901 and €1,000. Only 98,000 workers earn more than €3,000 monthly, whereas 239,000 earn €500 or less.
Data from Eurostat further reveals significant wage inequality form women and Greece’s youth. One in four women in Greece (23.4%) earns €5 per hour or less, while 43% of workers under the age of 30 are employed in low-wage positions. These figures place Greece among the worst-performing countries in the EU.
Collective bargaining coverage in Greece also remains limited. Only 25–30% of workers are currently covered by such agreements—well below the European Union’s target of 80%, which has also been adopted into Greek law.
