A recent study by the Institute of Labour of the Greek General Confederation of Labour/Confederation of Public Servants has shown that the distribution of the educational levels of workers throughout the country reflects varied employment rates between the regions. The main finding is that regions with dense population have the highest percentage of university graduates, while sparsely populated regions mainly absorb workers with low levels of education.
A study carried out by the Institute of Labour of the Greek General Confederation of Labour/Confederation of Public Servants (INE-GSEE/ADEDY) on employment and educational levels throughout the country was completed in 2005. The study looked at employment levels in the country’s regions in relation to the educational level in these regions. From an administrative point of view, Greece is divided into 13 regions, comprising nine regions on the mainland including Thrace, Central and Western Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, Central and Western Greece, Attica, Peloponnese, as well as four island groups consisting of the North and South Aegean Islands, Ionian Islands and Crete.
Findings of study
In terms of regional employment levels, over a third (37.2%) of the Greek labour force is concentrated in the Attica region, and 16.7% can be found in Central Macedonia. In other words, just two regions account for over half (53.9%) of the country’s workers (Table 1). When looking at the distribution of workers by level of education, a similar picture emerges: the regions of Attica and Central Macedonia absorb around two thirds (65.8%) of graduates of third-level institutes. This includes degree holders from Technological Educational Institutes or institutes of higher education, and postgraduate degree holders. For almost all of the regions, one common result emerges: the greater the population concentrated in a region, the larger the percentage of highly-educated graduates it absorbs, whereas regions with small populations mainly absorb workers with low levels of education.
Table 1: Regional employment levels, by level of education
This table presents employment data for each of the country’s regions, by level of education. | | Level of education |
| Regions | Total | Third-level education | Secondary education | Primary or no school education | % of total | % of third level | % of secondary | % of primary or no school |
| Greece (whole country) | 4,381,936 | 1,444,620 | 1,912,143 | 1,025,173 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Attica | 1,628,702 | 706,140 | 722,372 | 200,190 | 37.2 | 48.9 | 37.8 | 19.5 |
| Central Macedonia | 732,732 | 244,324 | 321,288 | 167,120 | 16.7 | 16.9 | 16.8 | 16.3 |
| Epirus | 122,777 | 34,828 | 48,219 | 39,730 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 3.9 |
| South Aegean Islands | 123,918 | 30,415 | 56,002 | 37,501 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 3.7 |
| Western Macedonia | 97,242 | 28,428 | 41,549 | 27,265 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.7 |
| Ionian Islands | 91,853 | 15,987 | 39,956 | 35,909 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 3.5 |
| North Aegean Islands | 68,671 | 18,451 | 30,265 | 19,955 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| Central Greece | 218,186 | 49,812 | 105,399 | 62,974 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 6.1 |
| Thrace | 229,014 | 52,675 | 86,638 | 89,701 | 5.2 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 8.7 |
| Peloponnese | 243,767 | 55,085 | 107,187 | 81,494 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 5.6 | 7.9 |
| Western Greece | 269,306 | 61,104 | 117,546 | 90,655 | 6.1 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 8.8 |
| Crete | 260,432 | 71,843 | 111,334 | 77,255 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 7.5 |
| Thessaly | 295,337 | 75,527 | 124,386 | 95,424 | 6.7 | 5.2 | 6.5 | 9.3 |
Source: National Statistical Service of Greece (ESYE), Labour Force Survey 2005 (second quarter)
When analysing the change pattern in terms of educational levels, it appears that the number of workers at all educational levels change at similar rates in the country as a whole and in the regions of Thrace and Central Macedonia. In Attica and Western Macedonia, the proportion of workers with a third-level and secondary education changed at a lower rate than the average rate of change for all regions, while it was greater for the lowest educational level. In the remaining regions, the rate of change in employment for third-level and secondary education is much greater than the average for the whole country; however, at the lowest educational level, the rate of change is lower than the average for the whole country.
Table 2: Average annual rate of change in employment, by region and level of education, 1993–2005 (%)
This table presents the average annual rate of change in employment, by region and level of education, 1993–2005 (%). | | Levels of education |
| Regions | Total | Third-level education | Secondary education | Primary or no school education |
| Greece | 1.4 | 6.3 | 3.3 | -4.2 |
| Thrace | -0.4 | 6.2 | 4.0 | -4.8 |
| Central Macedonia | 1.2 | 6.5 | 3.4 | -4.8 |
| Epirus | 1.8 | 7.9 | 7.0 | -3.9 |
| Thessaly | 1.5 | 6.6 | 5.6 | -3.6 |
| Peloponnese | 1.1 | 7.9 | 4.8 | -3.9 |
| North Aegean Islands | 1.9 | 8.0 | 6.3 | -4.0 |
| Crete | 1.7 | 7.9 | 5.4 | -4.0 |
| Ionian Islands | 1.9 | 8.7 | 6.8 | -2.7 |
| Western Greece | 1.8 | 9.3 | 5.3 | -3.1 |
| Central Greece | 2.1 | 9.2 | 6.1 | -3.8 |
| South Aegean Islands | 1.8 | 8.0 | 4.0 | -2.8 |
| Attica | 1.6 | 5.4 | 1.4 | -4.9 |
| Western Macedonia | -0.6 | 5.3 | 2.2 | -5.9 |
Source: ESYE, Labour Force Surveys 1993 (Annual), 2005 (second quarter)
Main conclusions
The study shows that the higher the population concentrated in a region, the greater the proportion of highly-educated workers that it absorbs. In addition, the proportion of workers with a high level of education such as graduates of third-level institutions increases at a higher rate than the proportion of workers who complete secondary school. In turn, the latter group increases at a higher rate than the proportion of workers who complete primary education and those who have no formal education.
In conclusion, increased employment in Greece comes mainly from a labour force with high educational qualifications, a fact that is apparent in all the regions. The highest concentration of workers can be found in urban areas such as Attica and Central Macedonia, whereas rural areas such as the Peloponnese, Thrace, Thessaly, Western Greece and Crete have higher proportions of workers with lower levels of education. The same is true for areas with increased development for tourism such as the South and North Aegean Islands and the Ionian Islands.
References
Kritikidis, G., ‘Employment and level of education in the regions’, in Enimerossi, No. 132, October 2006, Athens, INE/GSEE-ADEDY, pp. 4–35, available at: http://www.inegsee.gr/enimerwsi-main.htm
ESYE, Labour Force Survey 2005 (second quarter)
Sofia Lambousaki, Labour Institute of Greek General Confederation of Labour (INE-GSEE/ADEDY)