Greece is "looking" for workers. Tourist season begins with 80,000 job vacancies
This year's tourist season in Greece begins with at least 80,000 job vacancies, according to estimates from industry employees and employers.
The first negative signs came in January, the period when applications for the re-employment of last year's seasonal workers are due to be announced. Based on data from local unions, applications fell by 10%, especially in major tourist destinations such as Rhodes, Corfu, Crete and Halkidiki.
This year’s 80,000 vacancies are roughly on par with those in 2024, with hotels facing the biggest shortages. Based on data from the Institute for Tourism Research and Forecasting, job vacancies in Greek hotels reached approximately 54,000 in 2024. According to Greek sources, these positions are related to the skills issue in the tourism sector, which is emerging as a need for Greece.
However, according to the same data from the Greek Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs, of the 198,000 employees employed last year in hotels, 14% came from schools with a focus on tourism, and employment costs remain unchanged compared to 2024. However, it is not clarified to what extent this percentage relates to "interns" who are paid the minimum wage, which is half subsidized by the state.
Sector experts express concern that this year the number of job vacancies will be much higher than last year, also due to the digital card.
According to them, the digital card creates operational problems, especially in seasonal businesses in tourist areas, which traditionally stay open all week. "Based on sectoral contracts in the food and tourism industries, employees work five days and an optional sixth day, with a higher salary. In seasonal professions, the common practice is for the employee to be paid much more than what the market usually gives for working a seventh day and more hours," they emphasize. Also, the digital card will force some small shops to close on certain days of the week, creating problems in the quality of services or even a decrease in turnover for some businesses.
The problem of job vacancies in tourism is not new. It came to the fore with the restart of the industry after the pandemic. A critical mass of seasonal workers could not survive the suspension of their 534-euro contracts, which lasted almost two years with some interruptions. Many of them either moved to other professions or emigrated, looking for work in the same field in countries that compete with Greece in tourism. In recent years, the number of Greek workers working seasonally in the hotel and tourism businesses in Western and Northern European countries, such as Ireland or even Iceland, has increased.
Some of the job vacancies are being filled with workers transferred from third countries, but there are problems and delays. According to local media reports, approximately 1,000 workers transferred from the Philippines have already arrived in Rhodes, while another 1,000 are expected to fill thousands of job vacancies in the sector.
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