Statistics published by the Statistical Service from Eurostat this week show that expenditure on social protection measures in Cyprus was the lowest in the EU in 2002, at 16.2% of GDP. This may be as a result of Cyprus’ low unemployment rate–only about 5% on an EU-compatible basis compared with around 10% in the EU25.

According to the results of Labour Force Survey for the 2nd quarter of 2005, the number of employed persons amounted to 347,798 (males 197,145 and females 150,653) and the number of unemployed persons to 19,678 (males 8,907 and females 10,771). The employment rate for persons aged 15-64 was 68.7% (males 79.5% and females 58.5%). The

Leading online retailer Amazon.com has posted sharply higher third-quarter revenue, but profits were 44% lower due to a one-time legal settlement for a patent infringement case. Sales amounted to 1.86 bln dollars, a 27% spike from last year, helped by strong demand for the latest “Harry Potter” book. But the larger sales volume failed to