Unemployment rate falls in Q1

The unemployment rate fell to 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, a fall of 2 per cent year-on-year, with total employment increasing by 28,659 people, according to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) released on Wednesday. 

According to the data, the labour force amounted to 474,631 people or 64.3 per cent of the population (men 70.6 per cent, women 58.6 per cent) compared with 453,638 people (62.2 per cent of the population) in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

The number of employees stood at 443,327 people, while the employment rate reached 60.1 per cent (men 66.3 per cent, women 54.4 per cent).

The number of employees stood at 414,668 people with an employment rate of 56.8 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

The unemployment rate fell to 6.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 8.6 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

Moreover, the number of unemployed fell to 31,305 people compared to 38,970 in the corresponding period of 2021.

The unemployment rate for men and women stood at 6.1 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.

For the ages between 20 and 64, the employment rate reached 77.3 per cent.

The percentage for men was 83.6 per cent and for women 71.3 per cent.

In the corresponding quarter of 2021, the percentage was 73.5 per cent (men 79.7 per cent, women 67.7 per cent).

For the ages between 55 and 64, the employment rate was 63.6 per cent, compared to 60.1 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

According to the distribution of employment by sector, the largest percentage of employees is found in the services sector with 80.4 per cent.

This is followed by industry and agriculture with 17.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

For the first quarter of 2021, the respective percentages stood at 77.3 per cent for services, 19.3 per cent for industry, and 3.4 per cent for agriculture.

Part-time employment accounted for 10.8 per cent of total employment, corresponding to 47,929 people in total (men 8.7 per cent, women 13.2 per cent).

The corresponding figure for the first quarter of 2021 stood at 12.3 per cent (10. 8 per cent for men, 14 per cent for women).

Unemployment among young people, aged 15-24, also decreased, falling to 17.7 per cent of the labour force.

The same figure stood at 19.5 per cent (men 25.3 per cent, women 12.8 per cent) in the corresponding quarter of last year.