Cyprus’ state workforce reached 53,747 employees in July 2026, rising by 300 people or 0.6 per cent from 53,447 a year earlier, according to figures released by the statistical service (Cystat).

The increase came as growth in education and the security forces outweighed a further reduction in civil service staffing.

The civil service remained the largest of the three services, although employment fell by 1 per cent from 23,208 to 22,978.

By contrast, the educational service grew by 2.6 per cent to 16,928 employees, while the security forces added 103 people to reach 13,841, an increase of 0.7 per cent.

Across the state workforce, permanent employees remained by far the largest category, with their number rising by 0.3 per cent from 32,837 to 32,935.

Meanwhile, employees with indefinite-duration contracts recorded the strongest growth, increasing by 1.7 per cent from 9,348 to 9,509.

Fixed-term employment also increased, rising by 1.1 per cent from 4,527 to 4,578.

Hourly paid workers edged down by 0.1 per cent from 6,735 to 6,725, the only overall decline among the four categories.

Within the civil service, permanent employees fell by 0.7 per cent from 11,931 to 11,851, while those with indefinite-duration contracts declined by 2.7 per cent from 4,117 to 4,006.

Hourly paid workers also decreased by 2.1 per cent from 5,848 to 5,725, but fixed-term employees rose by 6.4 per cent from 1,312 to 1,396.

Education presented a markedly different picture, driven by strong growth in non-permanent employment.

Although permanent employees declined slightly by 0.2 per cent from 12,470 to 12,444, indefinite-duration contracts jumped by 25.7 per cent, from 921 to 1,158, the largest percentage increase across all services and categories.

At the same time, fixed-term employees in education rose by 7.3 per cent, reaching 3,181 compared with 2,965 a year earlier.

Hourly paid employment remained unchanged at 145.

In the security forces, permanent employment increased by 2.4 per cent from 8,436 to 8,640, while indefinite-duration contracts rose by 0.8 per cent from 4,310 to 4,345.

Hourly paid workers also climbed by 15.2 per cent, from 742 to 855.

The sharpest change came in fixed-term security force employment, which fell by 99.6 per cent from 250 people to just one.

According to Cystat, the reduction mainly reflected the completion and non-renewal of specific fixed-term contracts from August 2025 onwards.

Over the first seven months of the year, the average number of state employees increased by 0.3 per cent compared with the corresponding period of 2025.

Average permanent employment rose by 0.2 per cent and indefinite-duration employment increased by 1.7 per cent, while fixed-term and hourly paid employment fell by 0.8 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Looking at the individual services, average civil service employment declined by 1 per cent.

Permanent employment fell by 0.5 per cent, indefinite-duration contracts by 3 per cent and hourly paid employment by 1.3 per cent, whereas fixed-term employment increased by 2 per cent.

Average employment in the educational service rose by 2.1 per cent, supported by increases of 24.9 per cent in indefinite-duration contracts, 3.7 per cent in fixed-term employment and 2.3 per cent among hourly paid workers.

Permanent employment, on the other hand, declined by 0.2 per cent, the report added.

Meanwhile, average employment in the security forces was broadly stable, increasing by 0.1 per cent.

Permanent employment rose by 1.8 per cent, indefinite-duration employment by 1 per cent and hourly paid employment by 8 per cent, while fixed-term employment dropped by 90.3 per cent.