Cyprus’ unemployment rate eased to 4.9 per cent in September 2025, down from 5.1 per cent in August, with around 26,000 people registered as jobless, according to Eurostat.

The figure remains well below the EU average of 6 per cent and the euro area’s 6.3 per cent, both unchanged from the previous month.

Eurostat said that 13.25 million people were unemployed in the EU, including 11 million in the euro area.

Compared with August, unemployment rose marginally, by 63,000 people across the EU and by 65,000 in the euro area, while year-on-year, the total number of unemployed increased by 227,000 and 187,000, respectively.

Among member states, Spain continued to record the highest jobless rate at 10.5 per cent, with 2.6 million people unemployed, followed by Finland at 9.8 per cent (279,000) and Greece at 8.2 per cent (386,000). France remained at 7.6 per cent (2.42m).

At the other end of the scale, Czechia and Malta reported the lowest rates at 3 per cent, with 160,000 and 10,000 unemployed respectively, followed closely by Poland at 3.2 per cent (569,000).

Germany stood at 3.9 per cent (1.71m), while Italy recorded 6.1 per cent (1.58m).

In northern Europe, Sweden held steady at 8.7 per cent (504,000) and Denmark fell slightly to 6.1 per cent (202,000).

In Cyprus, female unemployment stood at 5.2 per cent, compared with 4.7 per cent for men. Across the EU, women recorded 6.1 per cent and men 5.8 per cent, both stable month-on-month.

Within the euro area, women were at 6.5 per cent, while men reached 6.2 per cent.

In Greece, female unemployment stood at 10.9 per cent, well above 6 per cent for men, while in Spain, women recorded 12.1 per cent compared with 9 per cent for men.

By contrast, Germany recorded 3.5 per cent for women and 4.2 per cent for men, while in France both stood close to 7.5 per cent.

Youth unemployment was stable, with wide differences between countries. Across the EU, the rate stood at 14.8 per cent, stable compared with August, while in the euro area it reached 14.4 per cent, slightly higher than 14.3 per cent a month earlier.

In total, 2.87m young people under 25 were unemployed in the EU, including 2.28m in the euro area.

Cyprus’ youth unemployment remained high at 17.2 per cent, about 5,000 young people, well above the EU average.

The rate was even higher in Spain (467,000), Italy (271,000), France (632,000) and Greece (41,000).

By contrast, Germany maintained the lowest youth jobless rate at 6.7 per cent (306,000), followed by the Netherlands (159,000) and Malta (3,000).

Northern Europe showed more mixed results, with Finland at 21.5 per cent (69,000) and Sweden at 24 per cent (167,000), both among the highest in the region.