Unemployment in Cyprus fell to 4.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a report published by the Cyprus Statistical Service on Thursday.

The number of unemployed people stood at 23,603, with an unemployment rate of 4.6 per cent of the workforce (men 4.3 per cent, women 4.9 per cent), compared to 27,627 people (5.4 per cent) in the same period of 2023.

According to the Labour Force Survey results for Q4 2024, the labour force totalled 513,935 people, or 65.1 per cent of the population (men 70.8 per cent, women 59.8 per cent).

This represents an increase from the 506,954 people (64.8 per cent) recorded during the same period in 2023.

The number of employed people reached 490,332, with an employment rate of 62.1 per cent (men 67.7 per cent, women 56.9 per cent), compared to 479,328 people (61.3 per cent) in the same quarter of 2023.

Employment rates and breakdown

For those aged 20-64, the employment rate was 79.9 per cent. The rate for men was 85.8 per cent, and for women, it was 74.5 per cent.

In the corresponding quarter of 2023, the rate was 79.0 per cent (men 83.5 per cent, women 75.2 per cent).

For those aged 55-64, the employment rate stood at 70.4 per cent, up from 68.6 per cent in the same quarter of 2023.

In terms of sector distribution, the largest percentage of employed people were in services, accounting for 81.2 per cent, followed by industry (16.5 per cent) and agriculture (2.3 per cent).

For Q4 2023, the corresponding figures were: services 81.3 per cent, industry 16.2 per cent, and agriculture 2.5 per cent.

Part-time employment made up 8.9 per cent of total employment, or 43,734 people (men 6.3 per cent, women 11.8 per cent).

The equivalent figure for Q4 2023 was also 8.9 per cent (men 6.8 per cent, women 11.1 per cent).

Of the total employed people, 90.5 per cent, or 443,710 people, were employees, with 13.7 per cent (60,821 people) having temporary jobs.

In Q4 2023, employees accounted for 89.3 per cent of total employment, with 13.3 per cent in temporary work.

Unemployment among young people

Among young people aged 15-24, the unemployment rate was 9.6 per cent of the workforce in this age group (men 9.0 per cent, women 10.3 per cent).

This marks a significant decrease from 17.5 per cent (men 19.7 per cent, women 15.2 per cent) in the same quarter of the previous year.

Regarding the duration of unemployment, 57.6 per cent of all unemployed people were looking for work for less than six months, 17.6 per cent for six to eleven months, and 24.8 per cent were long-term unemployed.

In Q4 2023, the corresponding percentages were 57.9 per cent, 14.1 per cent, and 28 per cent.