Cyprus sees drop in unemployment in second quarter

The unemployment rate in Cyprus decreased to 4.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, as reported on Thursday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

This marks an improvement from the rate of 5.7 per cent recorded in the same period last year.

According to the labour force survey, Cyprus’ total labour force numbered 511,423 people, representing 65.1 per cent of the population.

This is slightly down from the number of 511,573 people, a share of 65.9 per cent, recorded in the same period last year.

Of this total, male participation was slightly higher at 69.9 per cent, compared to female participation at 60.6 per cent.

In terms of employment, there were 487,663 employed individuals, which corresponds to an employment rate of 62 per cent.

This is a decline from the 62.1 per cent seen last year. The male employment rate stood at 67 per cent, while the rate for women was 57.5 per cent.

Moreover, the number of unemployed individuals totalled 23,760, resulting in an unemployment rate of 4.6 per cent for the labour force.

This shows a decrease from the 29,090 unemployed persons, a rate of 5.7 per cent in the prior year.

Breakdowns reveal a male unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent and a female unemployment rate of 5.2 per cent.

The employment figures for age-specific demographics highlight that for those aged 20-64, the employment rate held steady at 80.1 per cent for both this year and last.

For the age group 55-64, there was an increase in employment rate, from 66.9 per cent in 2023 to 71.1 per cent in 2024.

Sector-wise, the distribution of employment showed the highest concentration in the services sector at 81.5 per cent, followed by manufacturing at 16.2 per cent and agriculture at 2.3 per cent.

Part-time employment accounted for 8.9 per cent of total employment, a decrease from 9.3 per cent last year, involving 43,621 individuals.

The proportion of employees in the total employed population was 90 per cent, with 14.4 per cent of these individuals holding temporary positions, slightly up from 13.8 per cent the previous year.

Youth unemployment among individuals aged 15-24 stood at 14.2 per cent, a decrease from 15.3 per cent last year.

What is more, the unemployment data reveals that 49 per cent of unemployed individuals had been job hunting for less than six months, while 16.5 per cent had been searching for six to eleven months.

Meanwhile, 34.5 per cent were classified as long-term unemployed. In comparison, the figures for 2023 were 49.8 per cent for those job-hunting for less than six months, 17.3 per cent for six to eleven months, and 32.9 per cent for long-term unemployment.