Cyprus Business Now

The number of building permits in Cyprus, as well as the total useful floor area, experienced a significant decline during the period between January and December 2022, according to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the Statistical Service, the number of building permits issued by municipal authorities and district administrations amounted to 618 in December 2022.

The total value of these permits amounted to €213.2 million and corresponded to a total useful floor area of 187,100 square metres.

In addition, the number of permits provides for the construction of 863 residential units.

What is more, during the period between January and December 2022, 7,604 building permits were issued, compared to 8,164 in the corresponding period of the previous year, marking a decrease of 6.9 per cent.

The total value of these permits remained at the levels of the previous year, while the total area decreased by 6.3 per cent.

It should be noted that the number of residential units, a property category experiencing significant demand, recorded a decrease of 6.3 per cent.

“Building permits are an important indicator of future activity in the construction sector”, the service noted in its report.

Government employment recorded a 3.3 per cent decrease in February 2023, compared to the corresponding month of 2022, according to a report released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the report, government employment decreased by 1,763 people in February, a drop of 3.3 per cent year-on-year, and amounted to a total of 51,939 members of staff.

This decrease was primarily attributed to the transfer of hourly staff from the Ministry of Health to the State Health Services Organisation (Okypy), which is included in the broad public sector. The transfer of staff took place in January 2023.

In terms of permanent staff, there was a decrease of 714 people, a drop of 2.7 per cent, falling from 26,130 to 25,416 people in total.

Temporary staff saw an increase of 666 people, a rise of 3.5 per cent, amounting to 19,945 members of staff, compared to 19,279 in February 2022.

What is more, a decrease was observed in the number of hourly staff, which dropped by 20.7 per cent, as well as all categories of permanent staff. Conversely, an increase was observed in all categories of temporary staff.

The most noticeable changes concern public service staff, with permanent staff falling by 2.9 per cent and temporary staff rising by 5.7 per cent.

Compared to January 2023, the sharpest changes concern temporary staff in the education Service, with a drop of 1.2 per cent, as well as temporary staff in the public service, with an increase of 0.7 per cent.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, March 13 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 107.25 points at 12:27 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 2.40 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 64.81 points, representing a drop of 2.45 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €229,598.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes fell by 2.76 per cent and 0.85 per cent respectively. The investment firm and hotel indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-3.07 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-5.08 per cent), Salamis Tours (-1.08 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (no change), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (-0.75 per cent).