Cyprus Business Now

The total number of permanent staff employed by the government decreased by 679 persons or 2.5 per cent, with the figure dropping from 26,629 to 25,950, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

In addition, temporary staff increased by 882 persons (4.9 per cent) and reached 18,980 persons in total, compared to 18,098 persons in June 2021.

Total government employment increased by 265 persons in June, a rise of 0.5 per cent year-on-year, and reached 53,474 persons.

Civil Service staff increased by 0.8 per cent, while staff in education increased by 2 per cent, both in terms of how they compared to June 2021.

Conversely, there was a drop of 1.7 per cent in security forces staff.

Meanwhile, there is a decrease in all three categories in terms of permanent staff, with the sharpest drop taking place in civil service staff, which contracted by 3.3 per cent.

In terms of temporary staff, there was an increase of 7.3 per cent in the civil service, an increase of 8.5 per cent in education, and a decrease of 1 per cent in security forces.

An increase of 0.7 per cent was observed in the number of hourly-paid workers compared to June 2021.

The National Betting Authority generated €221 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2022, reflecting a 27 per cent increase year-on-year, as well as a 34 per cent increase over the first quarter of 2020.

The total number of licensed betting shops across Cyprus reached 490, with 166 of them being in Nicosia, 149 in Limassol, 87 in Larnaca, 52 in Paphos and 36 in the Famagusta district.

National Betting Authority president Ioanna Fiakkou expressed satisfaction about the performance of the authority, saying that the figures suggest that the sector has the potential for additional growth.

“It appears that the betting sector has fully recovered from the impact of the pandemic,” Fiakkou said.

Fiakkou explained that the authority’s efforts are focused on the sustainable development of the sector, through the strengthening of its supervisory tools and practices, as well as the implementation of new technologies and tools.

“It remains our non-negotiable goal to protect players, vulnerable groups and society at large from the harmful consequences of engaging in gambling,” she concluded.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, July 12 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 66.54 points at 12:30 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.6 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.80 points, which represents a decrease of 0.62 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €1,051.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and investment firm indexes fell by 1 per cent and 4.33 per cent respectively. The alternative and hotel indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Demetra (-4.64 per cent) and the Bank of Cyprus (-0.41 per cent).