ELSTAT: Agricultural professions declining as 75,000 workers leave sector in one year
Agricultural professions in Greece are rapidly declining, with more than 75,000 workers leaving the sector within a single year, according to new data released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).
Figures for the fourth quarter of 2025 show a sharp drop in employment across the primary sector, including agriculture, livestock farming, forestry and fisheries, highlighting growing pressure on rural professions.
Sharp decline in agricultural employment
According to ELSTAT, the category of skilled farmers, livestock breeders, foresters and fishers recorded the steepest decline in employment. The number of workers in these occupations fell by 18.5 percent compared with the previous year, representing more than 75,900 people who left the sector.
Employment in the agricultural sector stood at 333,600 in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 409,500 during the same period in 2024.
The data confirm a continuing downward trend in the primary sector that has persisted since 2014 and intensified after 2024, reflecting a steady reduction in the workforce involved in food production and related activities.
Employment trends across the Greek economy
While rural employment continues to shrink, the country’s labor market remains heavily dependent on services and trade, ELSTAT said.
Among the key findings:
Employees vs. self-employed: Wage earners account for 72.5% of the workforce, or about 3.15 million people. Self-employed workers without employees number more than 756,000, while around 330,000 are self-employed with staff. Approximately 109,000 people work as unpaid assistants in family businesses.
Largest employment category: Nearly one million people (981,800 or 22.6% of the workforce) are employed in service provision and sales.
Leading sectors: Wholesale and retail trade employ about 786,000 people, followed by the hospitality sector—restaurants and accommodation—with 377,000 workers.
Manufacturing: The sector employs around 426,500 people, with roughly 40% working in the food and beverage industry.
Professional occupations: The second-largest employment category overall, with about 962,000 workers, though it recorded an annual decline of 1.4%, equivalent to roughly 13,000 jobs.
A notable outlier in the data is the real estate management sector, which recorded a sharp 42% increase in employment. However, in absolute terms the sector remains small, employing only about 14,000 people, or 0.3% of total employment.
Analysts say the figures underline the structural transformation of the Greek economy, as traditional rural occupations continue to decline while services dominate the labor market.
