Cyprus’ labour market recorded a significant decline in unemployment during the first quarter of 2026, with the unemployment rate falling to 4.0% from 5.0% in the corresponding period of 2025, according to the Labour Force Survey results released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.
The number of unemployed persons dropped to 21,246, compared to 26,161 in the first quarter of the previous year. The decrease was observed in both men and women, with the unemployment rate standing at 4.0% for both genders.
At the same time, employment increased, with the number of employed persons rising to 510,265 from 493,272 in the same quarter of 2025. The employment rate climbed to 62.1% from 61.2% last year.
The country’s labour force reached 531,511 persons, representing 64.7% of the population, compared to 519,433 persons or 64.4% in the first quarter of 2025.
Employment remained particularly high among those aged 20–64, reaching 81.5%, up from 80.0% last year. For men, the rate stood at 86.0%, while for women it reached 77.3%. Among those aged 55–64, employment increased to 70.9% from 69.9%.
The economy continued to rely primarily on the services sector, which employs 81.8% of the workforce, while industry accounted for 16.3% and agriculture for 1.9%.
Part-time employment represented 8.9% of total employment, corresponding to 45,173 persons, showing a slight increase from 8.8% in 2025. Of all employees, 90% were salaried workers, while the share of those in temporary employment rose to 14.5% from 12.9% last year.
Despite the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment among those aged 15–24 increased to 13.1%, compared to 11.2% in the first quarter of 2025. Among young men, the rate rose to 15.8%, while for young women it stood at 10.5%.
Regarding the duration of unemployment, nearly two-thirds of unemployed persons (63.9%) had been seeking work for less than six months, while the long-term unemployed accounted for 20.3% of the total, down from 23.5% in the previous year.
