The labour force in Cyprus numbered 397,374 people in 2008, according to the newly published “Labour Force Survey” for 2008 from the Statistical Service Cystat.
Of the total, men accounted for 55.2% and women 44.8%.
The report provides full data on the employed and unemployed population, analysed by gender, age, education, branch of economic activity and occupational group.
Data are also presented on part-time employment, second job-holders and the weekly hours of work. The report also provides data on the labour market situation of migrants and their immediate descendants, which the Statistical Service calls an ad hoc module.
The main findings of the survey are as follows.
The number of employed people reached 382,852 and the employment rate for people aged 15-64 years old was 70.9 %.
The corresponding rate for males stood at 79.2 % while that for females was much lower at 62.9%. Both rates, however, are among the highest in the European Union.
The workforce of Cyprus has a relatively high educational attainment rate, since more than one-third (37.1%) of the workforce have completed tertiary education and 39.7% completed upper secondary education.
About 30,000 people or 7.8% of the employed worked on a part-time basis and 35.7% of these reported that they work on a part-time basis for personal or family reasons while 26.7% reported that they could not find a full-time job.
Around 16,000 or 4.2% of the working population reported having a second job and a large proportion of these (30.8%) chose agriculture as a sideline.
The unemployment rate amounted to 3.7% of the labour force; this was lower for males (3.2%) than females (4.2%).
The highest rate of unemployment was observed among young people below the age of 25, where it accounted for 9.0% of the labour force of the same age group.
Migration findings
The survey found that 49.5% of third country (non-EU) nationals (aged 15-74, who were born outside Cyprus and whose age at arrival in Cyprus was 15 years old or more) stated that their main reason for migrating to Cyprus was employment and that they had found a job before migrating.
Another 12.9% stated that employment was the main reason but that they had not found a job before migrating; 12.2% stated international protection (e.g. political refugees, asylum seekers); 12.1% said studying was the main reason, while only 6.5% stated that the main reason was to accompany a member of the family or for family reunification.
Among the third country nationals, 45.6% said nobody or nobody in Cyprus helped them to find their current job; 45.4% stated that they were helped by friends / relatives living in Cyprus; 4.2% stated other help in Cyprus (e.g. from employers, business contacts, community etc); and 3.8% stated that they were helped by Private Employment agencies in Cyprus.
“Repatriated” Cypriots
Among Cypriots born abroad 43.1% stated accompanying a member of the family / family reunification as the main reason for migrating to Cyprus.
Another 23.2% stated family formation as the main reason for migrating to Cyprus; 11.3% for other reasons (e.g. for retirement, for the climate, for health reasons etc); 10.9% for employment, having found a job before migrating; and 9.4% for employment but without having found a job before migrating.
Some 64.8% of Cypriot employed people aged 15-74 stated that nobody or nobody in Cyprus helped them to find their current job; 28.7% stated that they received help from friends / relatives living in Cyprus; 3.9% stated that they received other help (e.g. from employers, business contacts, community etc); and 2.5% stated that they were helped by the Public Employment Office in Cyprus to find their current job.
Of the Cypriots born abroad, 7.3% stated that there was a need to improve their Greek language skills in order to find an appropriate job. The percentages for the European Union nationals as and third-country nationals were 17.8% and 34.2% respectively.
European Union nationals
Among (non-Cypriot) European Union nationals, 31.7% stated employment as the main reason for migrating; 23.9% stated for accompanying a member of the family; and 18.5% state other reasons (e.g. for retirement, for the climate, for health reasons etc).
Some 15.4% stated they came for employment and had found a job before migrating to Cyprus, while 8.2% had migrated to Cyprus for family formation.
Of the EU nationals, 56.0% said they had received help from friends / relatives living in Cyprus in finding their current job; 35.9% stated that nobody or nobody in Cyprus had helped them while 5.3% stated other help in Cyprus (e.g. from employers, business contacts, community etc).
