A shrinking banking sector has worsened unemployment figures, as 460 of 1,000 former bank staff who took early retirement in 2022 have been unable to find work.
According to an analysis prepared by the Human Resources Development Authority of Cyprus, the number of bank employees without a job increased by 64.1%
The shrinking sector is reflected in data from the European Central Bank.
According to the ECB, bank employees in Cyprus were reduced to 6,722 last year from 8,946 in 2018, while the number of branches was reduced to 204 from 386 in 2018.
According to the analysis of the HRD, the number of registered unemployed in June 2023 was 11,747 people.
Compared to the same month in 2022, unemployment in June decreased by 585 people or 4.7%, but compared to May 2023, it increased by 13.4% (1,390).
The average number of registered unemployed for January – June reached 13,490 people. Compared to the same period last year, unemployment increased by 291 or 2.2%.
Sectors of economic activity with the largest numbers of unemployed in June were Trade and car repair (1,761 people), public administration and defence (1,332) and education (1,274).
An increase in the number of unemployed in the financial sector was also recorded in the first half of the year.
According to HRDA, the sectors with the largest numbers of jobless for January – June are hotels and restaurants (2,982), trade and car repair (2,052) and financial institutions (1,304).
Financial institutions also have the lead for the largest percentage change in unemployed compared to 2022.
The largest percentage change in unemployment, compared to the first six months of 2022, also occurred in the financial sector, with a 74% increase.
Last year nearly a thousand bank employees left the sector, while banks closed 56 branches across the island, also removing 62 ATMs from the network.
Largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, in 2022 offloaded more than 400 employees, decreasing its staff numbers from 2,996 in 2021 to 2,567.
Hellenic Bank reduced its staff from 2,610 to 2,142, while Cyprus’ third systemic bank, Alpha Bank, went from 492 to 440.
Astrobank reduced its employees from 464 to 444, while Eurobank Cyprus decreased to 435 from 448 the previous year.
The Cyprus Development Bank employed 138 employees, compared to 148, while the National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) had 111 employees on its payroll from 128.
Société Générale had 102 employees from 198, but Ancoria increased its staff to 108 in 2022 from 103 the previous year.
The largest number of bank employees was in 2012, when 12,853 people worked for banks before the financial crisis the following year.
