Unemployment in Crete remains below the national average according to official figures from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) published on Friday 6th March. The unemployment rate for the Region of Crete for the fourth quarter of 2025 was 6.9% as against the national average of 8.3%.
In absolute numbers the island recorded:
— 262,400 people in employment
— 19,300 unemployed
— 230,600 people not in the workforce (i.e. individuals who are neither working nor seeking work).
An encouraging figure for the local economy is the proportion of the population who are economically active. In Crete the figure is 55%, against a national average of 52.8%. Crete is among the regions with the lowest unemployment, by comparison with other regions such as Western and Central Macedonia, which have the highest rates of unemployment in the country at 15.1% and 11.8% respectively.
The national picture
At a national level, the number of unemployed at the end of the 4th quarter of 2025 was 394,894 (8.3%). This figure represents a slight increase over that of 8.2% recorded in the previous quarter but is an improvement compared with the corresponding quarter in 2024 (9.5%), representing a reduction of 12.1% on an annual basis
The total number of those in employment was 4,352,366, an increase of 1.7% compared with a year previously. At the same time the figure for those outside the workforce was 4,250,648 in the nation as a whole. (The total for those under the age of 75 was 3,002,142.)
Unemployment among women and young people
Despite the general improvement over the past few years, unemployment in the country still has its familiar victims. The highest proportion are among women (10.8%) and young people of 15-19 years (19.9%), as well as those who have only completed a few years in the public school system. Conversely, the highest proportion of the workforce is drawn from men of 30-44 years and graduates of post-secondary education.
Where the Greeks work
As regards the form of employment, the overwhelming majority (72.5%) are employees, while the self-employed without staff account for 17.4%. Part-time work accounts for 5.3% of the workforce and 8.9% are in temporary employment.
The highest proportion of workers are employed in the services and sales sector (22.6%) and in the professions (22.1%), while the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, stock-raising and fishing) is on a downward path which has intensified from 2024 inwards.
Long-term unemployment
The types of unemployment are a particular cause for concern. According to ELSTAT, more than half of those out of work (58%) are long-term unemployed, i.e. they have been looking for work for more than a year. In addition one in five (18.6%) are classified as “young unemployed”, who have never been employed in the past.
The basic reason for most of the unemployed losing their last job was the termination of a contract (of limited duration), accounting for 33.8%. Also noteworthy is that most unemployed are not covered by the government’s safety net, with only 15.1% stating that they receive some kind of unemployment benefit.
(Haniotika Nea, 07/03/26)