Cyprus unemployment seen higher in 2009

Cyprus Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Sotiroula Charalambous said a small rise in unemployment is expected in 2009 due to the global financial crisis, noting however that this will not approach the ''dramatic rates'' observed in other European Union member-states.
Charalambous said that figures showed that unemployment stood at 3.8% in September 2008 and declined to 3.0% in November.
''The figures so far are very good and do not advocate for any drastic change,'' the Minister said, invited to comment on a statement made by Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis that the first aim for 2009 is tackling the threat of unemployment.
''It is premature and dangerous to say anything'' about unemployment in 2009 Charalambous added, explaining that traditionally Cyprus shows a small rise in unemployment in the last months of the year due to the seasonal nature of tourism, which leads some hotels to suspend their operations.
''If the implementation of development projects starts on time -and this is the big challenge- we will not face a dramatic change in unemployment,'' she added.
The Labour Minister also said that a small rise of unemployment in the construction sector has been recorded adding however that ''it is very premature to say that this (rise) is due to the completion of big projects or it constitutes a trend which will continue in the next few months.''
Charalambous said that the Labour Ministry, in collaboration with the businesspeople and the trade unions will monitor closely the situation and will proceed to measures if necessary.