The Ministry of Finance said that the recently released data on unemployment ‘confirms that the Cypriot economy has entered a growth phase’.

The total number of unemployed people fell sharply in October, dropping by 65 per cent year-on-year according to data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

However, in this instance, the ministry was referencing data released by the European Statistical Service (Eurostat), which showed that the unemployment rate declined for a third consecutive month in Cyprus, reaching 3.6 per cent in September.

The Cypriot unemployment rate is significantly lower than the EU average of 7.4 per cent.

“This (Cyprus unemployment) rate is much lower than the Euro area average and is among the lowest in the EU member-states,” the finance ministry said.

“Unemployment is expected to continue its downward trajectory in the remaining months of 2021 and this confirms the timely and targeted measures taken to tackle the pandemic were effective in containing unemployment,” the finance ministry added.

The Building Contractors Associations of Cyprus (Oseok) held and participated in a hybrid event, alongside employee unions and trade federations.

The event was part of the Support Of Social Dialogue For An Effective Future Construction (SuSoDCo) initiative, involving stakeholders in the construction industry from Central Europe (Slovenia, Hungary), Southeastern Europe (Croatia, Bulgaria) and Southern Europe (Cyprus, Greece).

The hybrid event focused on communication skills, effective collective bargaining, crisis management, personal reputation and administrative skills, as well as ways to successfully apply for funding for social dialogue actions from the European Union.

The event included the participation of European Union representatives, the European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), and the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, November 4 with marginal profits, stabilising itself after a busy day of trading on Wednesday.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 65.31 points by 13:34 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.08 per cent over the previous day.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.02 points, representing a rise of 0.08 per cent. The total value of transactions came up to €31,037.

In terms of sub-indexes, the main index, alternative index and investment firm index rose by 0.1 per cent, 0.07 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively. The hotel index fell by 0.62 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works (-0.75 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (+1.94 per cent), Cyprus Cement (+0.95 per cent) CCC Tourist Enterprises (no change) and Salamis Tours (+1.01 per cent).