Unemployment in Cyprus stood at 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Thursday.

The number of unemployed people was 26,161 (men 12,338, women 13,823), compared to 29,102 people (men 14,926, women 14,176) and an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent in the same period of 2024.

According to the Labour Force Survey results for Q1 2025, the labour force totalled 519,433 people, or 64.4 per cent of the population (men 275,358 (69.8 per cent), women 244,075 (59.3 per cent)).

This marks an increase from 505,963 people (men 259,196 (68.9 per cent), women 246,767 (60.6 per cent)) recorded in the same quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, the number of employed people reached 493,272, with an employment rate of 61.2 per cent. This included 263,020 men (66.6 per cent) and 230,252 women (55.9 per cent), compared to 476,860 people in Q1 2024, with 244,270 men (64.9 per cent) and 232,591 women (57.1 per cent).

For those aged 20–64, the employment rate stood at 80.0 per cent. The rate for men was 85.5 per cent, while for women, it was 74.6 per cent.

In the corresponding quarter of 2024, the rate had stood at 78.5 per cent (men 82.6 per cent, women 74.8 per cent).

Among those aged 55–64, the employment rate reached 69.9 per cent (men 81.7 per cent, women 59.3 per cent), slightly up from 69.1 per cent (men 75.7 per cent, women 62.9 per cent) in the same quarter of 2024.

In terms of sector distribution, 81.1 per cent of employed people worked in services, followed by 16.8 per cent in industry and 2.1 per cent in agriculture.

The corresponding figures in Q1 2024 were services 81.1 per cent, industry 16.5 per cent, and agriculture 2.4 per cent.

In total, full-time employment accounted for 91.2 per cent of total employment, or 449,744 people (men 246,221 (93.6 per cent), women 203,522 (88.4 per cent)).

Part-time employment made up the remaining 8.8 per cent, or 43,529 people (men 16,799 (6.4 per cent), women 26,729 (11.6 per cent)).

By comparison, the corresponding figures in Q1 2024 were 43,752 people or 9.2 per cent (men 17,213 (7.0 per cent), women 26,539 (11.4 per cent)).

Of the total employed persons, 90.3 per cent, or 445,598 people, were employees (men 233,428, women 212,170), compared to 89.6 per cent in Q1 2024.

Among them, 87.1 per cent had permanent jobs, while 12.9 per cent, or 57,550 people (men 18,714, women 38,836), were in temporary positions.

In Q1 2024, 87.2 per cent of employees were in permanent jobs, while 12.8 per cent held temporary posts.

The number of self-employed persons fell to 47,675, representing 9.7 per cent of total employment (men 29,593 (11.3 per cent), women 18,082 (7.9 per cent)), compared to 49,724 people or 10.4 per cent in the previous year.

Among young people aged 15–24, the unemployment rate was 11.2 per cent (men 13.0 per cent, women 9.2 per cent), with 3,196 individuals unemployed (men 1,949, women 1,248).

This represents a significant drop from 16.0 per cent (men 17.5 per cent, women 14.6 per cent), or 5,221 people, in the same quarter of 2024.

For those aged 25–64, the unemployment rate stood at 4.7 per cent (men 4.1 per cent, women 5.4 per cent), down from 5.2 per cent in Q1 2024.

Regarding the duration of unemployment, 61.3 per cent of all unemployed persons were looking for work for less than six months (men 57.4 per cent, women 64.9 per cent), 15.2 per cent for six to eleven months (men 17.0 per cent, women 13.6 per cent), and 23.5 per cent were long-term unemployed (men 25.6 per cent, women 21.5 per cent).

The corresponding figures in Q1 2024 were 59.5 per cent, 13.8 per cent, and 26.7 per cent respectively.