Employment in the European Union increased slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 74.5% of people aged 20 – 64 in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the last quarter of 2021, according to the latest data released by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical service.
Most member states recorded an increase in employment in this period. Cyprus saw an increase of 0.8 percentage points, from 77.2% in the last quarter of 2021 to 78% in the first quarter of 2022.
The labour market slack, which comprises all people who have an unmet need for employment and of which one of the main components is unemployment, amounted to 11.9% of the extended labour force aged 20-64 in the first quarter of 2022, down from 12.3% in the fourth quarter 2021 (a reduction of 0.4 percentage points).
The highest increases in the employment rate between the last quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022 were recorded in Greece (an increase of 1.8 percentage points), Luxembourg (1.1 pp) and Latvia (1.0 pp).
The rate decreased only in three member states: Lithuania (a decrease of 0.3 percentage points), Denmark (0.5 pp) and Malta (0.6 pp).
Source: Cyprus News Agency