Cyprus continues to enjoy low unemployment, with the unemployed persons registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of August 2008 falling by 1,082 to 10,801, compared with 11,883 in July 2008.
The Statistical Service reports that the decrease was mainly recorded in the sectors of education, public administration and hotels and restaurants.
Encouragingly, unemployment was also lower than in the same period of 2007, suggesting that there was more than just seasonal reason at play (August is the busiest time of year for tourism).
Compared with August 2007 unemployment fell by 982 persons and this was mainly observed in the sectors of public administration, hotels and restaurants and trade, said the Statistical Service.
The Statistical Service no longer publishes a registered unemployment rate, preferring instead to use the broader quarterly Labour Force Survey.
However, based on the reported labour force in the first quarter (the latest available data), the registered unemployment rate in August was approximately 2.7%.

Fiona Mullen