Cyprus records one of EU’s lowest unemployment rates

Cyprus unemployment falls to 3.1 per cent in MayCyprus’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.1 per cent in May 2026, according to figures released by Eurostat on Thursday, marking a further improvement from the previous month and a sharp decline compared with a year earlier. The latest data showed that Cyprus’ unemployment rate eased from 3.2 per cent in April 2026 and 3.3 per cent in March 2026, while standing well below the 4.5 per cent recorded in May 2025. The number of unemployed people in Cyprus was estimated at approximately 16,000 in May 2026, down from around 17,000 in both April and March 2026 and significantly lower than the 24,000 recorded in May 2025. The figures indicate that Cyprus continues to outperform both the euro area and the European Union average, with unemployment remaining well below the corresponding rates across the bloc. Only Bulgaria and the Czech Republic recorded lower unemployment rates than Cyprus in May 2026, with both countries posting rates of 2.9 per cent, while Poland also recorded a rate of 3.1 per cent. Across the euro area, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 6.2 per cent in May 2026, unchanged from April 2026 and slightly lower than the 6.3 per cent recorded in May 2025. Across the European Union, the unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent in May 2026, also unchanged on a month-on-month basis and down from 6.0 per cent a year earlier. Eurostat estimated that 13,163,000 people were unemployed across the European Union in May 2026, including 10,986,000 in the euro area. Compared with April 2026, the number of unemployed people fell by 40,000 across the European Union and by 55,000 in the euro area. Compared with May 2025, unemployment declined by 82,000 across the European Union and by 158,000 in the euro area. The statistics also showed that youth unemployment remained significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate across Europe. In May 2026, 2,918,000 people under the age of 25 were unemployed across the European Union, of whom 2,313,000 were in the euro area. The youth unemployment rate increased slightly to 15.2 per cent in the European Union from 15.1 per cent in April 2026. In the euro area, the youth unemployment rate remained unchanged at 14.7 per cent in May 2026. Compared with April 2026, youth unemployment increased by 18,000 people across the European Union but fell by 12,000 in the euro area. Compared with May 2025, youth unemployment decreased by 8,000 across the European Union and by 56,000 in the euro area. For Cyprus, the latest available quarterly figures showed that the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate stood at 12.5 per cent in March 2026, down from 15.1 per cent in May 2025. Eurostat did not publish youth unemployment data for Cyprus for April or May 2026 because the country’s figures are reported on a quarterly basis. The number of unemployed people aged under 25 in Cyprus was estimated at approximately 4,000 in March 2026, compared with around 5,000 in May 2025. The data also highlighted differences in unemployment rates between women and men across Europe. In the European Union, the unemployment rate for women remained unchanged at 6.2 per cent in May 2026, while the rate for men declined to 5.7 per cent from 5.8 per cent in April. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women fell to 6.4 per cent from 6.5 per cent a month earlier, while the rate for men declined to 6.0 per cent from 6.1 per cent over the same period.