The survey, mandated as part of the country’s obligations to Eurostat—the statistical office of the European Union—aims to provide a detailed snapshot of labour market conditions within the Greek private sector.
With a reference period set for the calendar year 2024, the initiative will gather comprehensive data on employment levels, wages, both direct and indirect, and working hours. The research will cover enterprises with a workforce of ten or more employees across all primary sectors of economic activity, excluding the public sector.
ELSTAT has drawn a sample of 7,014 enterprises from its national statistical registry. However, it is expected that approximately 6,313 of these will ultimately be surveyed, as around 10 percent are anticipated to be ineligible due to business closures or other reasons.
Data collection will unfold in two main phases. Between May and August 2025, ELSTAT will deploy private collaborators to collect responses through on-site visits using structured questionnaires. The second phase, from September to the end of the year, will shift to an online format, allowing businesses to submit their responses digitally.
This hybrid approach is intended to ensure both broad participation and data reliability. The subsequent stages, including data validation, weighting, and final reporting to Eurostat, are scheduled for completion by mid-2026.
The survey will yield critical information not only on employment and pay but also on broader labour market indicators.
These include hours worked, forms of compensation, and regional and sectoral breakdowns of labour costs. The resulting dataset will offer insight into labour market dynamics at a granular level, with results available by two-digit industry classification and across major geographic regions of the country.
This labour cost survey is conducted every four years and holds significant policy relevance. Its findings contribute to the development of labour and social policy, both within Greece and across the EU.
Accurate, up-to-date data on labour costs is essential for understanding competitiveness, assessing the impact of labour regulations, and designing measures to support employment and productivity.
