Cyprus construction workers feel brunt of recession

Figures on registered unemployment show that construction workers felt the brunt of the recession in Cyprus in 2009, with total unemployment rising almost threefold from 902 registrations on average in 2008 to 2,598 in 2009.
Total unemployment in 2009 rose by 51.7% to 17,505, from 11,541.
The second largest increase in unemployment was wholesale and retail trade, where a decline in retail sales led to an increase in unemployment of almost 1,000 to 3,023 in 2009 from 2,029 in 2008.
Restaurant and hotel workers were also affected by the decline in tourism, with unemployment rising to 2,533 from 1,845 in 2008.
In December alone, the number of unemployed persons registered at the District Labour Offices reached 21,530 persons.
This was a fall of 2.8% over the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
On a positive note, the upward trend in unemployment in the past few months has shown some signs of stabilising as December unemployment was 52% higher than in the same month of 2008, compared with an increase of 73% in November.