The contrast is stark. In key sectors of the Greek economy, average hourly compensation stands at just €9.30, compared with €24.90 across the EU, €23.60 in Spain, €33.70 in France and €36.10 in Germany, according to 2025 data compiled by Greece in Figures from official sources including Eurostat and Greece’s statistical authority.
The disparity isn’t explained by Greeks working less. Quite the opposite.
Greek employees in sectors such as accounting, hotels and wholesale trade work about 2,048 hours a year. That is roughly 445 hours—or almost 56 additional eight-hour working days—more than their German counterparts.
Yet an hour of work in Greece generates only about €24.30 in economic output. The equivalent is €45.71 in Spain, €65.90 in France and €72.91 in Germany. The EU average is €53.15, more than twice the Greek level.
The figures highlight one of the central weaknesses of the Greek economy: Its problem isn’t primarily the amount of time people spend at work, but how much value the economy enables them to produce during that time.
Productivity depends increasingly on factors beyond an individual employee’s effort. Economists and representatives of employers and labor unions point to years of insufficient investment in machinery, software, research and development, alongside uneven adoption of automation and other technologies.
The structure of Greek business also matters. The economy is dominated by small and microenterprises, which often lack the scale, financing and managerial capacity to invest heavily in technology, employee skills and more efficient organization.
Greece has made progress in digitalization and investment in recent years, but it is still dealing with an investment deficit accumulated during its decade-long financial crisis.
The composition of the economy presents another challenge. Tourism, restaurants, retail and other services are major sources of employment and export revenue, but generally produce less value per worker than advanced manufacturing, technology and other capital-intensive industries.
Low productivity doesn’t by itself explain Greece’s low wages. Labor bargaining, competition, taxation and how companies distribute profits also matter. But over time, productivity places a ceiling on sustainable wage growth.
