Cyprus jobless rises by 25% in March

Registered unemployed in Cyprus rose by 25% annually in March to 29,676 as the labour market suffered from lockdowns and the coronavirus pandemic’s prolonged effects.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, unemployment remained relatively stable in March compared with February, with jobless rising by 0.44% following a monthly rise of 1.41% in February.

Based on the seasonally adjusted data that shows the trend of unemployment, the number of registered unemployed for March decreased to 29,676 compared to 29,907 in the previous month, marking a reduction of 0.8%.

Unemployed registered at District Labour Offices at the end of March reached 32,933, marking an increase of 25% or 6,580 persons, compared with March 2020.

The rise is attributed mainly to the sector of trade (an increase of 1,759), construction ( +1,005), professional, scientific and technical activities (+571), manufacturing (+568), education (+469) and newcomers to the labour market (+1,145).