The EU-harmonised unemployment rate in Cyprus rose to 5.1% in May from 4.6% in April and was one of the fastest-rising rates in the EU, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
This was the opposite of the trend elsewhere in the EU, where unemployment for the EU25 fell to 8.8% in May 2005 from 8.9% in April 2005, and 9.1% in May 2005. Similarly, seasonally adjusted unemployment in the euro area stood at 8.8% in May 2005, compared to 8.9% in April and 8.9% in May 2004.
The EU-compatible unemployment rate for Cyprus is higher than the registered unemployment rate, which recorded only 3.1% in May.
This is because the Eurostat/International Labour Organisation measures those aged 15 to 74 who: are without work; are available to start work within the next two weeks; and have actively sought employment at some time during the previous four weeks.
In other words, it measures more than just those entitled to unemployment benefits.
In May 2005, the lowest rates were registered in Ireland (4.2%), Austria (4.6%), the United Kingdom (4.6% in March), Luxembourg (4.7%) and Denmark (4.9% in April).
Unemployment rates were highest in Poland (17.8%), Slovakia (15.5%), Greece (10.2% in December 2004), Spain (9.9%) and France (9.8%).
Amongst the Member States, fourteen recorded a decrease in their unemployment rate over a year, two remained stable and nine reported an increase. The largest relative decreases were observed in Lithuania (11.2% to 8.1%), Estonia (9.6% to 7.9%), Slovakia (18.7% to 15.5%) and Denmark (5.5% in April 2004 to 4.9% in April 2005).
The largest relative increases, meanwhile, were recorded by Luxembourg (4.2% to 4.7%), Cyprus (4.6% to 5.1%) and Portugal (6.5% to 7.2%).
Female unemployment higher
In May 2005 compared to May 2004, the unemployment rate for males was stable at 7.6% in the euro-zone and decreased from 8.1% to 7.9% in the EU25. The female unemployment rate fell from 10.6% to 10.3% in the euro-zone and from 10.3% to 9.9% in the EU25.
In May 2005, the unemployment rate for under-25s was 17.8% in the euro-zone and 18.3% in the EU25. In May 2004 it was 18.5% and 19.1% respectively. The lowest rates for under-25s were observed in Denmark (7.2% in April), Ireland (7.9%) and the Netherlands (9.5%) and the highest in Poland (36.0%), Slovakia (26.7%), Greece (26.2% in December 2004) and Italy (24.2% in March).
Eurostat estimates that, in May 2005, 12.8 million men and women were unemployed in the euro-zone and 19.1 million in the EU25. These are seasonally-adjusted figures in line with ILO criteria.
In May 2005, the US unemployment rate was 5.1% and the Japanese rate was 4.4% in April.
