Finding a Job in Greece
The job market, in-demand fields, and how hiring works
Greek wages are the lowest in western Europe and unemployment remains above the EU average. Foreigners work mainly in tourism, shipping, technology, teaching, and increasingly in remote roles for foreign employers.
| Minimum wage | Roughly EUR 880 per month, 14 payments source |
| Strong sectors | Tourism and hospitality, shipping, logistics, technology, agriculture |
| Shipping | Piraeus is one of the world's major maritime centres |
| Working language | Greek, with English in shipping, tourism and technology |
The realistic picture
Average salaries are roughly a third of northern European levels, and Greece experienced a long period of high emigration among its own graduates. Arriving to compete in the general labour market is not a strong plan for someone from a high-income country.
Where Greece works is as a low-cost base for income earned elsewhere, which is precisely what the digital nomad visa and the pensioner tax regime are designed to attract.
The sectors that do recruit internationally
- Shipping. Piraeus hosts one of the largest concentrations of ship owners and maritime services in the world, and it recruits internationally at good salaries.
- Tourism and hospitality. Enormous and seasonal, with language skills directly valuable and management roles genuinely available.
- Technology. A growing Athens ecosystem, with international companies establishing development centres attracted by costs and the tax incentive for new residents.
- Teaching. Private language schools employ native English speakers throughout the country, and international schools recruit qualified teachers.
- Agriculture. Large-scale seasonal employment, mostly filled through dedicated seasonal schemes.
The fifty percent tax incentive
Individuals who transfer their tax residence to Greece to take up new employment or self-employment can claim a fifty percent exemption on their Greek-source income for several years, subject to committing to stay. Combined with low living costs, this can make a modest Greek salary compete better than the headline number suggests.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.