A recent quarterly report by the Center of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) concluded that Greek household earnings are lower than the average in European Union countries.
According to the report, the gap has widened in recent years, due to the slower income growth rate in Greece than other EU countries.
The report analyzes the labor earnings of households in Greece, comparing them to the average household earnings in the EU while taking inflation into account. This comparison reveals that the path towards income convergence between Greece country and the European Union is still long.
Over the past 14 years, Greek household earnings have seen only marginal increases for those without children, while households with children have experienced a decline in earnings. The most significant drop is in families with two working adults and two children. This downward trend in earnings for households with children could be contributing to the country’s declining population.
From 2013 to 2023, earnings in Greece have increased at roughly the same rate for all household types. The relevant index ranges from 117 to 118.5, whereas the corresponding indices in the EU exceed 133. In Greece, earnings are lower than the EU average for all household types at both time points of 2013 and 2023.
Moreover, the gap varies between household types. In 2023, the relative ratio ranges from 68.1% for households with two adults, two children, and one working adult, to 78.6% for households with two working adults and no children. This means that the earnings for a household with one working adult and two children amount to 68.1% of the average earnings for the same household type in the EU.
In recent years, despite improvements in the labor market and rising wages, the earnings gap between Greece and the EU has widened due to the slower growth rate of Greek earnings compared to the European average.
Since 2013, the gap for single-person households without children has increased by 10.3 points, and for households with two working adults without children, it has widened by about 10.6 points.
