According to the Labour Force Survey, Cyprus’ labour force in the 4th quarter of 2024 was 513,935 persons or 65.1% of the population (males 70.8%, females 59.8%), compared to 506,954 persons (64.8%) in the same quarter of 2023.
The number of employed persons was 490,332, with an employment rate of 62.1% (males 67.7%, females 56.9%), compared to 479,328 persons (61.3%) in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
Unemployment stood at 23,603 persons, with a 4.6% unemployment rate (males 4.3%, females 4.9%), compared to 27,627 persons (5.4%) in the same quarter of 2023.
For the age group 20-64, the employment rate was 79.9% (males 85.8%, females 74.5%), slightly up from 79.0% (males 83.5%, females 75.2%) in the same quarter of 2023. For ages 55-64, the employment rate was 70.4% compared to 68.6% in 2023.
The majority of employed persons were in Services (81.2%), followed by Manufacturing (16.5%) and Agriculture (2.3%). In 2023, the figures were Services (81.3%), Manufacturing (16.2%), and Agriculture (2.5%).
Part-time employment represented 8.9% or 43,734 persons (males 6.3%, females 11.8%), unchanged from 8.9% (males 6.8%, females 11.1%) in the 4th quarter of 2023.
A notable 90.5% or 443,710 of the employed persons were employees, with 13.7% (60,821 persons) holding temporary jobs. In 2023, employees were 89.3% of total employment, with 13.3% in temporary jobs.
For young persons aged 15-24, the unemployment rate was 9.6% (males 9.0%, females 10.3%), down from 17.5% (males 19.7%, females 15.2%) in 2023. The duration of unemployment showed 57.6% of the unemployed searched for less than six months, 17.6% for 6-11 months, and 24.8% were long-term unemployed. In 2023, the rates were 57.9%, 14.1%, and 28.0%, respectively.