Employment of Immigrants in the EU and Greece (2023)

1. EU Employment Rate:

• In 2023, more than 75% (equivalent to 195.3 million people) of the EU’s 20 to 64-year-olds were employed. This is the highest share recorded since 2009, marking three consecutive years of growth after a drop to 72% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic1.

• The highest employment rates were observed in the Netherlands (84%), Sweden (83%), and Estonia (82%).

• Conversely, the lowest employment rates were recorded in Italy (66%), Greece (67%), and Romania (69%).

1. Immigrant Employment in the EU:

• In 2022, approximately 9.93 million non-EU citizens were employed in the EU labor market, constituting 5.1% of the total working-age population (aged 20 to 64) 2.

• The employment rate for EU citizens was 77.1%, while for non-EU citizens, it stood at 61.9% in the same year 2.

• Among the EU countries, the over-qualification rate (when people with tertiary education work in jobs not requiring such high education) was highest in Spain (36%), followed by Greece (31%), and Cyprus (30%). Meanwhile, Luxembourg (5%), Denmark, and Czechia (each 13%) recorded the lowest rates1.

1. Gender Disparities:

• Women had higher over-qualification rates than men in 18 out of 27 EU countries. Notably, the largest differences were recorded in Malta and Slovakia (both +8 percentage points) and Italy (+7 points).

• However, in 9 EU countries, men had higher over-qualification rates, with the most significant differences observed in Lithuania (+5 points), Latvia (+4 points), and Bulgaria (+3 points).

These statistics provide insights into the employment landscape for immigrants within the EU and specifically in Greece. For more detailed information, you can explore Eurostat’s comprehensive data on migration and employment3

What does that all mean for Greek and EU business entities?

• That immigrants will keep coming and give a very valuable resource of labor that the Greek economy can count on. The same applies for the EU that needs human capital to overcome the current crisis, inflation and lack of growth. Germany's factories for example remain understaffed and the same applies to Greece to a lesser extent.

• The local labor market in Greece is outgunned by at least 200,000 blue collar labor and hospitality positions that need to be filled immediately through immigration, since the country faces a decreasing population problem. At the same time immigrants will keep the Social Security system of Greece solvent and the retirees pensions paid every month, despite the decrease of the indigenous population and of the labor force.

• Of course brain drain played a tremendous role so make sure to check the programs of the Greek government and our blog articles on Brain Gain.