Greek household disposable income reached its highest level since 2008 last year, climbing 5.3 percent to €167 billion as a tightening labor market, wage growth and tax cuts combined to deliver the strongest purchasing power gains in nearly two decades, official data have shown
The figures from the Hellenic Statistical Authority showed the gains accelerating through the year, with the final quarter of 2025 alone posting a 9.8 percent spike.
The increase follows a 4.5 percent rise in 2024, suggesting the recovery in household finances is broadening rather than plateauing.
Economic officials told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency the improvement was driven primarily by a €2.51 billion boost in wages and entrepreneurial income, coinciding with unemployment falling to around 8 percent — close to a historic low for a country that saw joblessness peak above 27 percent during the debt crisis.
A 5.3 percent reduction in tax burdens returned an additional €319 million to consumers.
Private consumption rose 5.5 percent to €171.5 billion, outpacing the year's 2.5 percent inflation rate — a sign that Greeks are gaining real, not just nominal, ground.
The Mitsotakis government has pointed to the data as evidence that successive minimum wage increases are feeding through to the broader economy, particularly benefiting lower-income households.
Not everyone is celebrating.
Housing costs in Athens and other urban centers continue to erode real-term gains for many families, and analysts caution that affordability pressures remain acute despite the headline improvement.
Still, for the first time in nearly two decades, the direction of travel for Greek household finances is unambiguously upward.