According to latest data from the National Statistical Service, the number of people in the Greek labour force is 4,369,000. Although Greece has a relatively small labour force, there are certain quality factors which make the country competitive and more attractive in this field than most of its European counterparts.

Education

The educational structure of the Greek labour force has improved impressively over the last years. In the last decade, the number of students that entered the Greek and foreign universities doubled. 42.000 students apply every year for Greek universities and over 40.000 to universities abroad (mainly in the UK).

According to Eurostat, Greek students represent the highest proportion of foreign students in the EU. Latest OECD data shows that almost 25% of the Greek labour force has a university degree from which 16% has participated and has completed advanced research university programmes successfully. In addition, the same data shows that 36% has completed upper secondary school, 10% lower secondary education and 32% pre-primary and primary education.

Most Greeks with university degrees have studied abroad, either in North America or Europe, and they represent approximately 11% of the Greek population.

A recent study conducted by the Greek association of CEO’s (EASE) in association with Insead (the French Institute for Economic Research and Development) shows that 94% of Greek managers are graduates of whom 54% are postgraduates. Some 45% of Greek managers speak a foreign language, mainly English, and half of these are competent to further languages, mostly French, German or Italian. The study also indicates that university education of management executives is approximately 55% in business, 25% in engineering and 15% in applied sciences.

Educational level of labour force (2001)
Sector	Total	With Ph.D.	University degree	Technical degree	Lyceum	Basic Education
Employees	3.917.499	22.729	595.434	477.567	1.147.259	417.591
Agriculture	615.746	110	4.061	6.436	65.233	56.782
Fishery	11.260	0	193	753	2.048	886
Mining	17.760	0	832	906	5.488	2.490
Manufacturing	557.375	2.184	36.050	62.787	174.365	82.691
Energy, natural gas, water	34.341	166	3.726	5.692	16.726	2.592
Construction	284.752	232	10.748	11.575	64.633	54.656
Trade, car repair	673.210	1.569	54.813	87.341	299.175	85.853
Hotels, restaurants	254.984	0	9.327	24.690	96.917	40.651
Transport, warehousing,   communication	250.002	918	17.678	43.766	91.268	32.981
Intermediate financial   institutions	107.992	1.744	27.625	17.129	53.353	4.254
Asset management, rental	212.955	3.110	98.138	47.932	49.257	7.091
Public sector, defense,   social security	290.289	1.192	68.790	54.091	123.113	13.246
Education	251.098	10.445	190.506	25.572	15.595	1.795
Health, social care	177.774	881	55.008	57.939	33.612	6.233
Other services	177.962	177	17.939	30.958	56.447	25.391

Labour cost

Greece combines a reasonable pool of skilled workers and a good supply of unskilled labour and has one of the lowest labour costs in the European Union.

Representative monthly wage levels in Greece (2004)
Sector	Euro
Laborers*	25 - 45
Clerks	550 - 1.000
Specialized mechanics	700 - 1.200
Foremen	1.000 - 1.500
Secretaries	1.200 - 1.800
Managers (middle)	1.800 - 4.500
Managing Directors	4.500 - 9.000
Public Social Security as % of monthly salary	43.86% (27.96% by the employer)
*Daily rate

Productivity

Labour productivity has increased significantly in the last few years with growth rates above the EU average. In 2001, labour productivity growth rate reached high levels (4.2%) placing Greece in first position in the European Union. Ireland is second with 3.7%, and the United Kingdom third with 1.4%.

Number of employed by branch of economic activity (2002) (000s)
Agriculture, livestock, fishing	623,80
Mining and quarrying	18,90
Manufacturing	540,80
Electricity, gas	33,70
Construction and public works	293,90
Trade, restaurants, hotels	947,30
Transport and communication	243,50
Banking and finance, insurance	324,30
Other services	922,70
Total	3.948,90

Working hours

Greek workers work more hours than most of their European counterparts. Greece is above the EU and holds second position with 1.810 hours annually, following Portugal with 1.823 hours.

Strikes

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Bureau of Statistics, the number of workers involved in strikes in Greece reduced drastically during the last decade. In 1990 over 1.3 million workers were involved in strikes, whereas in 1998 only 33.000 were reported.