Three schemes to boost employment for women and people over 50 with a budget of €15 million were outlined by Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou on Tuesday, and will be presented to cabinet next week.

“The government is continuing methodically and constructively to further boost employment with targeted measures,” Panayiotou said.

Each of the plans is designed to target a different group of people, two women in particular and the third plan aimed at people above 50.

All three of offer employment subsidies for ten months, amounting to €8,600 for each person and require a minimum employment of one year.

The majority of the funding, €7 million, will be allocated to initiatives aimed to support the employment 820 unemployed women.

The other two projects, at €4 million each, aim at the employment of 470 people each, one targeting people above 50 and the other “inactive women” with flexible employment arrangements.

According to the minister, data from the last two years backs the need for the specific age and gender schemes.

The schemes are “essential for the continuation of the positive course of the labour market, which is the driving force of the Cypriot economy,” the minister said, adding that the new plans would be “implemented immediately” after being put before and approved by the cabinet.

Head of the labour department Alexandros Alexandrou added that the subsidies had drawn significant attention from companies so far.

“We are pleased to say that there is great interest and the budget is almost always exhausted,” he said.

Panayiotou said the current employment rate stood at 80 per cent, with Cyprus ranking first among EU member states in reducing unemployment.

He emphasised that the further unemployment decreased, the harder it was to reduce it, stressing that efforts targeted at specific groups of employees played a crucial role in the ministry’s efforts to reduce and eventually stabilise low unemployment rates.

“We are continuing methodically and effectively in this direction,” he said.

He added that the integration of specific groups, including people with disabilities or chronic diseases, as well as released prisoners, into the labour market, were among the goals of the ministry.

“A higher the employment rate means that more citizens of the country are taking advantage of the prospects created through the growth path of the Cypriot economy,” he concluded.