Nicosia: The unemployment rate in Cyprus fell to 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data released on Thursday by the Statistical Service of Cyprus, marking an improvement compared with 4.5% in the corresponding quarter of 2024. Unemployment also edged down slightly from 4.1% in the third quarter of 2025. At the same time, both total employment and the labour force recorded increases.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the labour force rose to 531,062 persons, representing 65.2% of the population, compared with 518,053 persons (64.3%) in the fourth quarter of 2024. The participation rate among men stood at 70.3%, while for women it reached 60.4%.
The number of employed persons increased to 509,773, with the employment rate rising to 62.6%, up from 61.4% a year earlier. Employment among men reached 67.6% and among women 57.9%. In the 20-64 age group, the employment rate climbed to 81.7% (86.2% for men and 77.4% for women), compared with 80.2% in the same quarter of 2024. Notable improvement was also recorded among those aged 55-64, where the employment rate increased to 71.7% from 69.9%.
In terms of sectoral distribution, Services continued to account for the largest share of employment at 81.3%, followed by Industry at 16.5% and Agriculture at 2.2%, with percentages remaining broadly stable compared with 2024.
Part-time employment accounted for 8.6% of total employment, or 43,703 persons, marking a slight decrease from 8.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. The part-time employment rate was higher among women (10.4%) than men (6.9%).
Of the total number of employed persons, 90.2% or 460,003 were employees, of whom 14.8% held temporary jobs, up from 13.6% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The number of unemployed persons declined to 21,289 from 23,454 in 2024. However, youth unemployment (ages 15-24) rose significantly to 14.7%, compared with 9.6% a year earlier.
Regarding the duration of unemployment, 66.6% of unemployed persons had been seeking work for less than six months, up from 57.9% in 2024. The share of long-term unemployed fell to 18.3% from 25.4%.