Greece’s Young Workers Face High Unemployment, Exploitation, and Low Wages

Greece’s young workers who are currently trying to enter the labor market face high unemployment, flexible forms of employment for those who manage to work, exhausting hours without a consistent daily schedule, and low wages that push this age group below the poverty line.

Youth unemployment is one of the country’s biggest challenges. Figures indicate that it exceeded 20% in July 2024, the second-highest youth unemployment rate in Europe after Spain. This rate reaches higher percentages in winter, as many young people find seasonal employment in the tourism sector during summer. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that youth unemployment has decreased over the past year, following the general downward trend in unemployment.

However, even for young individuals who manage to find work the situation remains dire. Thousands are employed under part-time arrangements or are engaged in undeclared labor, deprived from work insurance or labor rights.

Indicative of the negative situation is the fact that out of the total new job positions created seven out of ten are part-time, while only three are full-time and permanent. As a result, very few young workers earn even the minimum gross salary of 830 euros, while the majority receive even lower wages, effectively creating a class of “the new poor.”

Even the Labor Minister Niki Kerameus cited this term as she recently acknowledged that this situation drives young people abroad or forces them to work for extremely low pay.

Regarding working hours, data from the Labor Inspectorate shows that exceeding legal working hours is the most common labor law violation. Half of the violations recorded in 2023 involved excessive working hours. Young workers are often the primary victims, with their schedules rarely being fixed and frequently exceeding the “standard” eight-hour day, with overtime almost never being compensated.

In the tourism sector, a significant employer of young workers, one in three businesses faced penalties during inspections conducted in this year’s tourist season, exposing widespread violations of labor laws.

Across all industries, the situation remains grim: one in four businesses failed to comply with legal requirements to adjust the minimum wage to mandated levels, often paying workers less than entitled and neglecting to provide the lawful seniority increments.