Unemployment falls below 8% in July
Greece’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 7.9% in July, dropping below the 8% threshold for the second time in 2026 and confirming the continued improvement in labor market conditions, according to data from the Hellenic Statistical Authority.
The rate fell from 8.9% in June and 8.1% in July 2025.
The last time Greece recorded an unemployment rate below 8% before 2026 was in November 2007, when it stood at 7.7%. Unemployment subsequently climbed sharply, reaching a peak of 28.2% in July 2013.
Number of unemployed falls by 10.7%
ELSTAT data showed that 376,508 people were unemployed in July, 45,192 fewer than a year earlier, representing a 10.7% decline.
Compared with June, the number of unemployed fell by 7,968, or 2.1%.
The figures point to a continued reduction in unemployment following the significant improvement recorded in the post-pandemic period.
Employment continues to rise
Employment also increased in July, reaching 4,379,823 people.
That was 41,365 higher than in July 2025, an annual increase of 1%. On a monthly basis, employment rose marginally by 1,692 people.
At the same time, the number of people outside the labor force continued to decline.
Among people under 75 who were neither working nor actively seeking employment, 2,951,948 were recorded in July, down by 35,528 from the same month last year.
The latest figures reinforce the broader improvement in Greece’s labor market, with unemployment now standing close to levels last seen before the country’s prolonged economic crisis.
