Nominal wage increases are being undercut by persistently high inflation in Greece. Especially after the austerity of 2022-2023, coupled with the pressures created this year by the war in the Middle East, the improvement in Greeks’ purchasing power has been limited and may even have worsened for certain groups of workers.
According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the global employment outlook, real wages in Greece increased cumulatively by around 4.5-5% in a five-year period of explosive gross domestic product (GDP) growth, from the first quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2026.
The pressure on real wages is also confirmed by the spring report of the Hellenic Fiscal Council (GFC) published on Monday, which notes that real wages fell by 0.1% in 2023, before making a dynamic comeback of 3.6% in 2024. Since then, however, real wages have essentially remained stagnant, recording an increase of just 0.1% in 2025 and the same in 2026.
Based on the European Commission’s forecasts, real wages in 2027 will increase by 1.8% annually compared to a eurozone average of 0.8%.
EMPLOYMENT ECONOMY INFLATION LABOR
