Working Poor in Greece Above EU Average in 2025

Working poor account for 9.7% of employed people aged 18 to 64 in Greece. The corresponding figure across the 27 European Union member states stood at 8.3% in 2025. Greece therefore remains above the European average, although the gap has narrowed compared to 2009, when the indicator in Greece reached 13.7%, and 10.1% in 2019. This trajectory indicates a clear long-term decline, but not full convergence with the EU-27 average.

Greece continues to face a serious problem of in-work poverty, without however being the most extreme case among the countries examined.

These data come from a report by the Labour Institute of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE GSEE), which explains that the “in-work poverty risk” indicator focuses on people who are employed and therefore allows an assessment of whether participation in the labour market is sufficient to protect against the risk of poverty.