Unemployment down to 4.6% in Q4 2024

Unemployment in Cyprus dropped to 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data published by CySTAT.

The number of unemployed persons amounted to 23,603 and the unemployment rate to 4.6% of the labour force (males 4.3%, females 4.9%) in comparison to 27,627 persons (5.4%) in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

According to the results of the Labour Force Survey, the labour force in the 4th quarter of 2024 amounted to 513,935 persons or 65.1% of the population (males 70.8%, females 59.8%), compared to 506,954 persons (64.8%) in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

The number of employed persons was 490,332 and the employment rate 62.1% (males 67.7%, females 56.9%) in comparison to 479,328 persons (61.3%) in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

Employment

For the age group 20-64, the employment rate was 79.9%. The rate for males was 85.8% and for females 74.5%. In the corresponding quarter of 2023, the rate was 79% (males 83.5%, females 75.2%). For the age group 55-64 the employment rate was 70.4% in comparison to 68.6% in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

According to the distribution of employment by sector, the biggest percentage of employed persons was in Services (81.2%), followed by Manufacturing (16.5%) and Agriculture (2.3%). For the 4th quarter of 2023, the corresponding percentages were: Services 81.3%, Manufacturing 16.2% and Agriculture 2.5%.

The share of part-time employment to total employment was 8.9% or 43,734 persons (males 6.3%, females 11,8%). The corresponding rate for the 4th quarter of 2023 was 8.9% (males 6.8%, females 11.1%). 90.5% or 443,710 of the total employed persons were employees, of which 13.7% (60,821 persons) had a temporary job. In the corresponding quarter of 2023 employees accounted for 89.3% of total employment of which 13.3% had a temporary job.

Unemployment

For young persons aged 15-24 years old, the unemployment rate was 9.6% of the labour force of the same age group (males 9%, females 10.3%) compared to 17.5% (males 19.7%, females 15.2%) in the corresponding quarter of last year.

As far as the duration of unemployment is concerned, 57.6% of the total unemployed persons searched for a job for a period of less than 6 months, 17.6% for a period of 6-11 months, whereas a percentage of 24.8% were long-term unemployed. The corresponding rates for the 4th quarter of 2023 were 57.9%, 14.1% and 28%.

(Source: CNA)