CYPRUS: Unemployment drops to 10% in 3Q

Unemployment dropped to 10% in the third quarter of 2017, from 12.9% in the same quarter last year, the Statistical Service Cystat said, adding that employment rose to 55.7%.

According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the labour force in the third quarter of 2017 amounted to 427,042 persons or 61.9% of the population (males 67.1%, females 57.1%), compared to 421,798 persons (61.8%) in the same quarter of 2016.

The number of employed persons was 384,516 and the employment rate 55.7% (males 60.8%, females 51.1%) compared to 367,395 persons (53.9%) in the corresponding quarter of 2016.

The number of unemployed persons amounted to 42,526 and the unemployment rate stood at 10.0% of the labour force (males 9.5%, females 10.5%) compared to 54,402 persons (12.9%) in the same quarter last year.

The employment rate of the age group 20-64 was 71.8% and 57.8% among persons aged 55-64.

By sector, the biggest percentage of employed persons was in services (80.7%), followed by manufacturing (16.7%) and agriculture (2.6%), compared to 79.0%, 17.2% and 3.8%, respectively in the same quarter last year.

Part-time employment accounted for 12% of total employment or 45,983 persons. The corresponding rate for the third quarter of 2016 was 13.9%.

Unemployment among the 15-24 year olds was 23.9% compared to 30.1% in the same quarter of 2016. Long -term unemployment declined to 43.3% from 45.1% in the same quarter last year.