The number of registered unemployed persons in Cyprus stood at 11,556 at the end of August 2025, according to data released on Wednesday by the Statistical Service (Cystat). 

On a seasonally adjusted basis, unemployment increased to 10,225 in August from 10,149 the previous month, continuing a second consecutive monthly rise. 

Nevertheless, registered unemployment fell by 523 people, or 4.3 per cent, compared with August 2024. 

Cystat said the annual decline was mainly driven by reduced jobless numbers in education, trade, construction, financial and insurance activities, as well as fewer newcomers entering the labour market. 

However, compared to July 2025, several sectors experienced an increase in unemployment. 

Public administration recorded the largest month-on-month rise, with the number of unemployed climbing to 3,214 in August from 3,079 in July, and from 2,477 in August 2024. 

Education followed, with unemployment rising to 1,818 from 1,627 in July, though still well below the 2,300 recorded in the same month last year. 

Human health and social work activities also rose to 348 from 298 in July, and from 324 in August 2024. 

Transportation and storage registered 296 unemployed, up from 275 in July, but slightly below the 314 recorded a year earlier. 

Accommodation and food service activities increased to 798 from 773, though still lower than the 840 registered last year. 

Administrative and support service activities climbed to 340 from 319 in July, compared with 316 in August 2024. 

Professional, scientific and technical activities reached 792, up from 746 in July, and higher than the 745 recorded in the same month last year. 

By contrast, unemployment in information and communication dropped to 451 from 468 in July, while remaining just below the 482 seen in August 2024. 

Arts, entertainment and recreation fell to 208 from 223 in July, exactly matching the level recorded a year earlier. 

Other service activities slipped to 219 from 223, compared with 254 in August 2024. 

Financial and insurance activities fell to 372 from 379 in July and from 496 last year, while construction declined to 408 from 416 and remained well below 535 in August 2024. 

Manufacturing registered 433 unemployed, a slight increase from 421 in July but still significantly down from 529 a year earlier. 

Real estate activities stood at 97, broadly stable compared to 98 in July and 92 in August 2024. 

Agriculture, forestry and fishing remained unchanged at 49, compared with 71 last year. 

Finally, the number of unemployed newcomers edged up to 290 from 289 in July, but was far lower than the 496 recorded in August 2024. 

Since the beginning of the year, when registered unemployment stood at 13,147 and the seasonally adjusted figure was 10,383, the actual number of unemployed has fallen by almost 1,600 people. 

These figures follow July’s report, when registered unemployment stood at 11,088, with seasonally adjusted numbers reaching 10,081.  

At that point, Cystat had pointed to annual declines across education, construction, financial services, and manufacturing, though many sectors saw a rise compared with June.  

Public administration, in particular, jumped sharply to 3,079 unemployed in July from 2,171 the previous month. 

At the same time, Eurostat data showed Cyprus’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbing to 5 per cent in July, up from 4.7 per cent in June and a year earlier, with about 27,000 people unemployed.  

This remained below the euro area average of 6.2 per cent and the EU average of 5.9 per cent, but above Germany (3.5 per cent) and the Netherlands (3.3 per cent), while far below Spain (11.2 per cent) and Greece (10.4 per cent). 

Youth unemployment in Cyprus, published quarterly, stood at 14.8 per cent in June, higher than the 11.2 per cent recorded a year earlier.  

This left Cyprus above Germany (5.9 per cent) and Czechia (6.3 per cent), but below levels in Spain, Greece and Italy. 

In a separate report, Cystat said unemployment in Cyprus stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2025, down from 4.6 per cent a year earlier. The number of unemployed reached 22,663, split between 11,019 men and 11,644 women, compared with 23,760 in Q2 2024. 

The labour force rose to 528,981 people, or 65.4 per cent of the population, up from 65.1 per cent last year, while employment climbed to 506,318, giving a rate of 62.6 per cent.  

Among those aged 20–64, employment reached 81.7 per cent, up from 80.1 per cent, with participation strongest among men at 87 per cent compared with 76.5 per cent for women. 

Long-term unemployment fell sharply, accounting for 21.1 per cent of the total compared with 34.5 per cent a year earlier, while most unemployed, 55.9 per cent, had been seeking work for less than six months.