Greece Tops EU in Overqualified Workforce

14:08 16/4/2025 - Πηγή: Dikaiologitika

What sets Greece apart, however, is not only its low employment rate but the striking level of mismatch between education and job roles.

Despite gradual progress over the past decade, Greece continues to rank near the bottom of the European Union when it comes to employment. According to the latest figures from Eurostat,

just 69.3% of Greeks aged 20 to 64 were employed in 2024—far below the EU average of 75.8%. Only Italy reported a lower figure, making Greece the second-to-last among member states.

What sets Greece apart, however, is not only its low employment rate but the striking level of mismatch between education and job roles. The country has the second-highest rate of overqualified workers in the EU, following Spain. Nearly one in three employed Greeks is working in a position that requires fewer qualifications than they hold. This is a particularly pronounced issue among university graduates, who often find themselves in jobs far below their skill level or education.

This dynamic reflects a deeper structural problem in the Greek labor market. Rather than offering knowledge-intensive, high-tech positions that align with modern economic trends and capitalize on technological innovation, the market remains heavily weighted toward low-skilled, labor-intensive roles. Just 3.2% of employed Greeks work in high-tech or knowledge-driven sectors—an alarmingly low figure compared to other EU countries and one that has actually declined slightly since 2023.

The situation is especially discouraging for young people. Greece continues to experience one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the EU, at 21%. Among those aged 15 to 29, employment stands at just 36.1%, significantly below the Eurozone average of 50.1%. For young graduates, the picture is equally grim: only 66.2% manage to find work within three years of graduation, far behind the EU average of 85.2%. This leads many to accept jobs far beneath their qualifications, seek opportunities abroad, or exit the labor force altogether out of frustration.

Despite these challenges, it’s important to acknowledge that Greece has made some progress. Since 2015, the country’s employment rate has risen by 14.5 percentage points. But much of this gain stems from a shrinking labor force, caused by a declining and aging population, rather than robust job creation.

Gender inequality adds another layer to Greece’s employment crisis. The country has the second-widest gender employment gap in the EU, with an 18.8 percentage point difference between men and women. While 78.7% of Greek men aged 20 to 64 are employed, only 59.9% of women in the same age group hold jobs. In comparison, the EU average gender gap is significantly narrower, at 10 percentage points. Women in Greece are also more likely to be overqualified for their positions than men—33.6% versus 32.3%—highlighting persistent gender disparities in access to quality employment.

While most EU countries have moved toward greater gender parity, particularly in Northern and Baltic states, Greece remains an outlier. Countries like Finland and Estonia have nearly eliminated the employment gender gap, with differences of less than one percentage point, while Greece continues to struggle with longstanding systemic inequalities.
Across the EU, employment is rising, and 2024 marked a record high with nearly 198 million people aged 20 to 64 in work. But Greece’s continued underperformance—both in job availability and job quality—points to a labor market that has yet to fully recover or modernize in step with its European peers.

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