Unemployment percentage is recorded at the lowest point since 2008, at 3.6% in the second quarter of 2026, according to data published by the Statistical Service on Thursday.
According to the results of the Labour Force Survey, the labour force in the 2nd quarter of 2026 amounted to 540,130 persons or 65.6% of the population (males 70.9%, females 60.5%) in comparison to 528,981 persons (65.4%) in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The number of employed persons was 520,763 and the employment rate 63.2% (males 68.5%, females 58.3%) in comparison to 506,318 persons (62.6%) in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
The number of unemployed persons amounted to 19,367 and the unemployment rate to 3.6% of the labour force (males 3,5%, females 3,7%) in comparison to 22,663 persons (4.3%) in the corresponding quarter of 2025, recording the lowest point since the 4th quarter of 2008.
Employment by age and sector
According to CYSTAT, for the age group 20-64, the employment rate was 82.8%. The rate for males was 87.8% and for females 78.1%. In the corresponding quarter of 2025, the rate was 81.7% (males 87%, females 76.5%).
For the age group 55-64 the employment rate was 72.6% in comparison to 71.5% in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
According to the distribution of employment by sector, the biggest percentage of employed persons was in Services (81.8%), followed by Manufacturing (16.2%) and Agriculture (2%). For the 2nd quarter of 2025, the corresponding percentages were: Services 81.2%, Manufacturing 16.6% and Agriculture 2.2%.
The share of part-time employment to total employment was 8.7% or 45,178 persons (males 7.6%, females 9.9%). The corresponding rate for the 2nd quarter of 2025 was 9.4% (males 7.1%, females 12%).
89.8% or 467,712 of the total employed persons were employees, of which 15.7% (73,306 persons) had a temporary job. In the corresponding quarter of 2025 employees accounted for 90% of total employment of which 14.3% had a temporary job.
Unemployment by age and duration
For young persons aged 15-24 years old, the unemployment rate was 12.2% of the labour force of the same age group (males 12%, females 12.4%) in comparison to 14.9% (males 15.8%, females 13.9%) in the corresponding quarter of last year.
As far as the duration of unemployment is concerned, 62.4% of the total unemployed persons searched for a job for a period of less than 6 months, 16.5% for a period of 6-11 months, whereas a percentage of 21.1% were long-term unemployed. The corresponding rates for the 2nd quarter of 2025 were 55.9%, 23% and 21.1%.
