Abstract
This paper examines the structural transformation of the Greek labor market over the period 2000–2025, situating occupational change within the broader framework of international and European political economy and sustainable development. Against the backdrop of prolonged economic crisis, fiscal adjustment, globalization, and accelerating technological change, the study investigates whether Greece exhibits employment restructuring patterns consistent with the job polarization hypothesis observed in other advanced industrial and developed economies. Drawing on the task-based approach, the analysis uses harmonized ILOSTAT data on employment by occupation (ISCO-08, one-digit level) and adopts a comparative perspective including the EU, the G7, and the G20. The study assesses long-term shifts in occupational composition and skill distribution before, during, and after the sovereign debt crisis, with particular attention to structural resilience and productive transformation. The findings indicate that the Greek labor market does not display a clear polarization trajectory. Although the share of professional occupations has increased, managerial and advanced technical roles remain structurally limited, while employment continues to concentrate in service and elementary activities. Rather than reflecting a transition toward a knowledge-intensive and innovation-driven growth model, occupational restructuring appears constrained by persistent production structures, weak technological upgrading, and institutional rigidities. The Greek case highlights a broader challenge of the Mediterranean countries and regions that are highly dependent on tourism: sustainable economic transformation requires not only macroeconomic stabilization but also productive and institutional reconfiguration for creating jobs in higher-value-added sectors and knowledge-intensive industries.
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