Nicosia: Unemployment in Cyprus has decreased, with the rate falling to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2025 from 4.5% in the same period of 2024. The number of unemployed individuals dropped to 21,781, representing 4.1% of the labor force, compared to 23,073 persons or 4.5% in the previous year.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the Labor Force Survey results for the third quarter of 2025 showed that the labor force consisted of 530,992 individuals, which is 65.6% of the population. This marks an increase from the same quarter in 2024, where the labor force numbered 516,127 persons or 65.7% of the population.
The survey reported that the number of employed persons reached 509,211, resulting in an employment rate of 62.9%. This was a slight increase from 493,054 persons or 62.7% in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Employment figures indicated that the rate for the 20-64 age group was 81.6% in the third quarter of 2025, with men at 86.6% and women at 76.8%. In contrast, during the same period in 2024, the rate was 80.7%.
The employment rate for those aged 55-64 was 70.9% in the third quarter of 2025, showing a minor decline from 71.0% in the same quarter of the previous year. Employment distribution by sector revealed that services employed the largest percentage of workers at 81.4%, followed by manufacturing at 16.3%, and agriculture at 2.3%.
Part-time employment constituted 8.8% of total employment, encompassing 44,607 people. The breakdown by gender showed that 6.8% of men and 10.9% of women were in part-time positions. These figures were close to the third quarter of 2024, which recorded part-time employment at 8.7%.
Regarding employment status, 90.2% of the workforce were employees, with 15.5% holding temporary jobs. In the third quarter of 2024, employees also made up 90.2% of the workforce, with 14.5% in temporary positions.
The survey also highlighted trends in youth unemployment, which stood at 13.1% for those aged 15-24. This reflects an increase from the previous year’s 12.1%. The duration of unemployment showed that 63.8% of unemployed individuals were jobless for less than six months, 16.8% for 6-11 months, and 19.4% were long-term unemployed. These rates were compared to 56.3%, 20.2%, and 23.5%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2024.