Cyprus recorded a rise in labour productivity in the first quarter of 2026, while productivity across the European Union accelerated in the second quarter, according to data published by Eurostat.

Real labour productivity per person in Cyprus increased by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, while productivity measured by hours worked rose by 0.5 per cent.

The figures put Cyprus among the EU countries recording productivity growth at the start of the year, although the available Cyprus figures relate to the first quarter while the latest EU-wide figures cover the second quarter.

Labour productivity measures the amount of real economic output produced by each employed person or for each hour worked.

Eurostat calculates the indicator by combining gross domestic product (GDP) and employment data, providing an indication of how much output an economy generates relative to the labour used to produce it.

Across the EU, labour productivity based on the number of people employed increased by 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of 2025.

Productivity measured by hours worked increased by 0.8 per cent over the same period.

The latest figures represented an acceleration from the first quarter, when EU labour productivity had increased by 0.4 per cent on both a per-person and per-hour basis compared with the same quarter of 2025.

Most EU countries recorded increases in labour productivity based on the number of people employed.

Slovenia recorded the strongest annual increase, with productivity per person rising by 4.5 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.

Denmark followed with a 3.6 per cent increase, while Lithuania recorded growth of 3.5 per cent.

Only three EU countries recorded declines in productivity per person.

Ireland registered a fall of 1 per cent, followed by Romania with a decline of 0.8 per cent and Italy with a fall of 0.4 per cent.

The pattern was broadly similar when productivity was measured by hours worked.

Slovenia again recorded the largest increase, with productivity per hour rising by 5.8 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2025.

Denmark followed with growth of 3.5 per cent, while Latvia recorded an increase of 3.4 per cent.

Productivity per hour fell in five EU countries, the European statistical office reported.

Romania recorded the largest decline, at 1.2 per cent, followed by the Czech Republic at 0.8 per cent and Portugal at 0.5 per cent.

Productivity per hour was unchanged in Ireland, the report added.

The figures provide a measure of how efficiently labour is contributing to economic output and can be influenced by changes in both GDP and employment.

For Cyprus, the first-quarter figures showed stronger growth in productivity per person than in productivity per hour, with the respective increases standing at 1.1 per cent and 0.5 per cent.

The difference suggests that the improvement in output relative to the number of people employed was greater than the improvement when the amount of time worked was taken into account.

Eurostat’s data form part of its quarterly statistics on labour productivity and unit labour costs, which are used to track changes in the relationship between economic output and labour input across the EU.