Cyprus recorded a clear improvement in its labour market during the first quarter of 2026, with the unemployment rate falling to 4 per cent compared to 5 per cent in the same period last year.

According to the results, published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), the number of unemployed people declined to 21,246 persons.

This compares with 26,161 unemployed persons in the first quarter of 2025, pointing to a notable easing in joblessness across the country.

The decrease was recorded among both men and women, with the unemployment rate standing at 4 per cent for both genders.

At the same time, employment continued to rise, with the number of employed persons reaching 510,265.

This marks an increase from 493,272 persons in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

As a result, the employment rate rose to 62.1 per cent, compared with 61.2 per cent a year earlier.

The country’s labour force also expanded during the period, reaching 531,511 persons, or 64.7 per cent of the population.

This compares with 519,433 persons and a rate of 64.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.

The employment rate among people aged 20 to 64 remained particularly strong, increasing to 81.5 per cent from 80 per cent last year.

For men in this age group, the rate reached 86 per cent, while for women it stood at 77.3 per cent.

Moreover, employment among people aged 55 to 64 also increased, reaching 70.9 per cent compared with 69.9 per cent in the previous year.

The Cypriot economy remained heavily reliant on services, which accounted for 81.8 per cent of total employment.

Industry followed with 16.3 per cent, while agriculture represented just 1.9 per cent of employment.

Part-time work accounted for 8.9 per cent of total employment, corresponding to 45,173 persons.

This marks a marginal increase from 8.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.

Meanwhile, employees represented 90 per cent of total employed persons.

The share of those working on temporary contracts also increased, rising to 14.5 per cent from 12.9 per cent a year earlier.

Despite the broader improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment moved in the opposite direction. Among people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate rose to 13.1 per cent, compared with 11.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2025.

The increase was more pronounced among young men, where the rate reached 15.8 per cent.

For young women, youth unemployment stood at 10.5 per cent. Regarding the duration of unemployment, almost two out of three unemployed persons, or 63.9 per cent, had been looking for work for less than six months.

Long-term unemployed persons accounted for 20.3 per cent of the total. This represents a decrease from 23.5 per cent in the same period of the previous year.