Cyprus’ unemployment rate fell to 3.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, from 4.3 per cent a year earlier, as employment continued to grow, according to the state statistical service (Cystat).

The figures, released as part of the labour force survey, showed that the number of employed people increased by 2.9 per cent year on year to 520,763, compared with 506,318 in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

As a result, the overall employment rate rose to 63.2 per cent from 62.6 per cent.

At the same time, the labour force expanded by 2.1 per cent to 540,130 people, accounting for 65.6 per cent of the population. This compared with 528,981 people and a participation rate of 65.4 per cent a year earlier.

However, the changes differed between men and women. The male labour force increased to 283,680, although the participation rate fell slightly to 70.9 per cent from 71.1 per cent.

By contrast, the female labour force rose to 256,450, while the corresponding rate increased to 60.5 per cent from 60 per cent.

Employment growth was also considerably stronger among women. Female employment increased by 4.4 per cent to 246,895 people, pushing the employment rate to 58.3 per cent from 57.2 per cent.

Male employment rose by 1.5 per cent to 273,868, with the rate reaching 68.5 per cent, compared with 68.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.

Alongside the increase in employment, the number of unemployed people fell by 14.5 per cent to 19,367, from 22,663 a year earlier.

Male unemployment declined to 9,812 people, with the rate falling to 3.5 per cent from 3.9 per cent. The number of unemployed women dropped to 9,555, while the female rate decreased more sharply to 3.7 per cent from 4.7 per cent.

The improvement was also reflected across the main working-age groups. Among people aged 20 to 64, employment reached 493,680 and the employment rate increased to 82.8 per cent, from 81.7 per cent a year earlier.

The rate for men in this age group rose to 87.8 per cent from 87 per cent, with 254,490 employed. For women, it increased to 78.1 per cent from 76.5 per cent, with employment reaching 239,190.

A similar increase was recorded among people aged 55 to 64, whose employment rate rose to 72.6 per cent from 71.5 per cent. A total of 87,065 people in this age group were employed.

Nevertheless, the gender breakdown showed contrasting trends. The rate for men aged 55 to 64 fell to 81.3 per cent from 82.5 per cent, while the rate for women increased to 64.7 per cent from 61.6 per cent.

The number of employed women in this age group rose to 40,562, while the male total stood at 46,503.

Turning to the sectoral breakdown, services remained by far the largest source of employment. The sector employed 426,231 people, up from 411,204 a year earlier, and accounted for 81.8 per cent of total employment.

Industry employed 84,135 people, compared with 83,808 in the second quarter of 2025. However, its share of employment fell to 16.2 per cent from 16.6 per cent.

Agricultural employment also declined, falling to 10,397 people from 11,306, while its share decreased to 2 per cent from 2.2 per cent.

The figures further showed that women remained particularly concentrated in services, which accounted for 92.7 per cent of female employment. Industry represented 6.3 per cent and agriculture 1 per cent.

Among employed men, 72 per cent worked in services, 25.1 per cent in industry and 2.9 per cent in agriculture. This compared with 70.9 per cent, 25.8 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively a year earlier.

Meanwhile, full-time employment increased by 3.6 per cent to 475,586 people, accounting for 91.3 per cent of total employment, up from 90.6 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.

In contrast, part-time employment fell by 4.7 per cent to 45,178 people, reducing its share of employment to 8.7 per cent from 9.4 per cent.

The part-time employment rate among men increased to 7.6 per cent from 7.1 per cent, with 20,797 men working part-time. Among women, however, the rate fell to 9.9 per cent from 12 per cent, while their number declined to 24,381.

Of the total employed population, 467,712 were employees and 53,051 were self-employed.

Employees accounted for 89.8 per cent of total employment, down slightly from 90 per cent, while the share of self-employed people increased to 10.2 per cent from 10 per cent.

The number of self-employed people rose by 4.9 per cent year on year and included 32,982 men and 20,069 women.

Among employees, 394,406 held permanent positions, accounting for 84.3 per cent of the total, compared with 85.7 per cent a year earlier.

Temporary employment, on the other hand, increased by 12.1 per cent to 73,306 people, raising its share of employee jobs to 15.7 per cent from 14.3 per cent.

The increase was particularly pronounced among men, with the number holding temporary jobs rising to 28,307. Temporary work consequently accounted for 11.8 per cent of male employees, up from 9 per cent.

Among women, temporary employment increased to 44,998, although its share of female employee jobs fell to 19.8 per cent from 20.3 per cent.

The decline in joblessness also extended to younger workers. Among people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate fell to 12.2 per cent from 14.9 per cent, while the number of unemployed young people decreased by 20.6 per cent to 3,594.

The youth unemployment rate stood at 12 per cent for men and 12.4 per cent for women, compared with 15.8 per cent and 13.9 per cent respectively in the second quarter of 2025.

Among people aged 25 to 64, the number of unemployed fell to 15,416 from 17,505, while the rate decreased to 3.2 per cent from 3.7 per cent.

The rate for men in this age group declined to 3.1 per cent from 3.3 per cent, while the female rate fell to 3.3 per cent from 4.1 per cent.

Looking at the duration of unemployment, 12,086 people, or 62.4 per cent of the unemployed, had been searching for work for less than six months. This represented an increase from 55.9 per cent a year earlier.

A further 3,197 people, or 16.5 per cent, had been unemployed for between six and 11 months, down from 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2025.

The number of long-term unemployed people fell to 4,084 from 4,792. However, their share of total unemployment remained unchanged at 21.1 per cent.

Finally, among unemployed men, 67.1 per cent had been searching for work for less than six months and 18.9 per cent were long-term unemployed. The corresponding rates for women were 57.6 per cent and 23.4 per cent.