Greek unemployment eases to 7.6% in September, down from 8.8% a year earlier

A fall on the year, a rise on the month

Greece's unemployment rate reached 7.6% in September 2026, according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), with figures released on 30 October 2026. The reading is down from 8.8% in September 2025 but up from 7.4% in August 2026, a month-on-month increase in the agency's seasonally adjusted estimates. ELSTAT counted 359,609 unemployed people, 57,627 fewer than a year earlier (down 13.8%) and 7,509 more than in August (up 2.1%). The chart below tracks the three readings.

2025-09

8.8 %

2026-08

7.4 %

2026-09

7.6 %

Data from the article text

Employment and the gender gap

The employed population stood at 4,391,208, up 49,573 (1.1%) on September 2025 and down 8,945 (0.2%) on August. Women's unemployment was 10.5% in September 2026, down from 11.4% a year earlier, while the rate for men fell to 5.2% from 6.7%. The gap between women and men remains wide, as ELSTAT's figures show. Inactive people under 75, meaning those neither working nor looking for work, numbered 2,949,072, down 36,315 on September 2025 and down 2,752 on August.

Young people

For those aged 15 to 24, ELSTAT recorded unemployment of 17.3%, against 20% in September 2025. For the 25 to 74 age group the rate was 7%, down from 8.1%. Eurostat's figure for under-25s put Greece at 17.3% in September, up from 16.1% in August and 16.7% in July, and above the eurozone average of 15.4% and the EU average of 15.5%. Across the EU, 3.022 million people under 25 were unemployed in September, 2.469 million of them in the eurozone. Finland had the highest youth rate at 23.7%, followed by Sweden (23.2%), Spain (22.8%), Luxembourg (22%) and France (21.9%).

Europe-wide picture

Eurostat put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the eurozone at 6.5% in September 2026, unchanged from August and up from 6.3% a year earlier. For the EU as a whole the rate was 6.2%, also unchanged on the month and up from 6.0%. Finland led the bloc at 10.5%, ahead of Spain at 10.3%, Sweden at 8.7%, France at 8.5% and Estonia at 8%. Greece's 7.6% sits above both averages but below those five countries. Eurostat estimates that 13.773 million people in the EU were unemployed in September, 11.555 million of them in the eurozone. Compared with August, unemployment rose by 105,000 in the EU and by 122,000 in the eurozone, and compared with September 2025 it rose by 471,000 and 420,000 respectively.

Finland10.5%

Spain10.3%

Sweden8.7%

France8.5%

Estonia8%

Greece7.6%

Eurozone6.5%

EU6.2%

Finland

10.5 %

Spain

10.3 %

Sweden

8.7 %

France

8.5 %

Estonia

8 %

Greece

7.6 %

Eurozone

6.5 %

EU

6.2 %

Data from the article text

Diverging counts

A separate dispute surfaced in an article from To Vima published the same day, comparing ELSTAT's August figures with the Public Employment Service (DYPA, formerly OAED). ELSTAT counted 350,800 unemployed in August 2026, a rate of 7.4%, while DYPA had 717,926 registered jobseekers, a gap the article puts at 367,126. DYPA's count rose by 2,598 (0.4%) on July, whereas ELSTAT's fell by 25,708 over the same comparison. Of DYPA's registered jobseekers, 369,342 (51.4%) were long-term unemployed, meaning registered for 12 months or more. The article asks whether the gap reflects different methodology or a failure to capture real unemployment, and says the difference has persisted for decades. These are August figures, so they predate the September release.