Nicosia: The total number of state employees in Cyprus reached 53,747 in July 2026, representing an increase of 300 employees, or 0.6%, compared with July 2025, according to data released by the Statistical Service on Thursday. This growth was primarily driven by the Educational Service, which saw a rise in employment by 2.6%, while the Security Forces experienced a 0.7% increase in personnel. However, the Civil Service saw a decline in employment by 1%.
According to Cyprus News Agency, over the first seven months of the year, the average number of state employees increased by 0.3% compared with the corresponding period of 2025. The number of employees on indefinite-term contracts grew by 1.7% year-on-year, from 9,348 in July 2025 to 9,509 in July 2026. The Educational Service witnessed the largest percentage increase in indefinite-term employees, with a 25.7% rise, from 921 to 1,158. The Security Forces also saw a 0.8% increase, while the Civil Service experienced a 2.7% decline in this category.
The news release highlighted that the number of permanent employees rose slightly by 0.3%, reaching 32,935 from 32,837 the previous year. Employees on definite-term contracts increased by 1.1% in July, totaling 4,578, whereas the number of hourly paid workers remained stable, with a slight decrease of 0.1% to 6,725.
The rise in state employment was largely linked to the Educational Service, which saw an increase of 427 employees year-on-year, reaching 16,928 in July from 16,501 a year earlier. The number of permanent employees in this sector remained broadly unchanged, declining by 0.2% to 12,444. The most significant growth was among employees on indefinite-term contracts, rising by 237, or 25.7%, to 1,158, while those on definite-term contracts increased by 7.3%, from 2,965 to 3,181.
Conversely, the Civil Service experienced a 1% decline in employment, with the number of employees dropping by 230 to 22,978 from 23,208 in July 2025. There was a 0.7% decrease in permanent employees, a 2.7% drop in indefinite-term contract employees, and a 2.1% reduction in hourly paid workers. The only increase was seen in employees on definite-term contracts, which rose by 6.4%, from 1,312 to 1,396.
Employment in the Security Forces grew by 103 employees, or 0.7%, reaching 13,841 in July 2026. Permanent employees increased by 2.4%, and those on indefinite-term contracts rose by 0.8%. Hourly paid workers saw a substantial increase of 15.2%. However, there was a dramatic 99.6% decline in employees on definite-term contracts, from 250 in July 2025 to just one in July 2026.
According to the Statistical Service, this sharp decline is mainly due to the completion and non-renewal of specific definite-term contracts from August 2025 onwards. This decrease does not reflect a general contraction in employment across the Security Forces.