Foreign Workers in Greece Primarily Fill Key Roles in Tourism, Agriculture, Construction, and Catering

Workers arriving from various countries are mainly employed in sectors such as catering, agriculture, construction, and especially tourism—a crucial industry that contributes approximately 10% to Greece’s GDP.

Greece’s Efforts to Secure Foreign Workers for 2025

The Greek government has been actively working to meet the labor demands by attracting foreign workers to fill critical gaps in the market for 2025.

One notable initiative is the agreement reached with India to bring around 50,000 additional Indian workers to Greece. This agreement aims to facilitate worker transfers throughout the year and was expected to be completed by the end of summer 2025.

This partnership is part of a broader strategy targeting nationals from third countries, especially those with experience in tourism, catering, construction, and agriculture sectors.

Labor Market Demand and Worker Transfers

Between 2023 and 2024, Greece needed to fill 147,925 job vacancies with foreign workers. Additionally, in 2024, the government approved the transfer of another 32,517 workers from third countries.

Most of these roles are for unskilled or semi-skilled positions, including land workers, builders, machine operators, factory workers, and office assistants. Seasonal jobs constitute a significant share, with approximately 42,520 of 89,290 positions designated for seasonal employment—roughly half of the total demand.

Skilled and Seasonal Employment Needs in 2025

For 2025, Greece projects a need for 89,290 foreign workers across dependent employment, seasonal work, and highly skilled roles. Dependent employment holds the largest share with 41,670 positions, making up nearly 47% of the total.

Seasonal employment accounts for 45,670 positions, while highly skilled jobs represent about 2,000 roles.

Additional Employment Opportunities

Local media reports indicate that if all planned worker transfers are completed, Greece could see the employment of around 3,000 additional foreign workers in the manufacturing sector. Of these, approximately 1,430 would work as factory employees in industries like food production, olive oil processing, and cheese manufacturing.

Furthermore, the healthcare sector is expected to create around 2,500 new positions, focusing on elderly care and home support services.