Permanent jobs rise, contracts drop: Cyprus state workforce exceeds 55,000 workers

Cyprus’ state workforce rose to 55,317 employees in October 2026, an increase of 341 people or 0.6 per cent from 54,976 a year earlier, according to figures released on Wednesday by the statistical service (Cystat). The increase was driven largely by employment growth in the security forces, where staffing rose by 2.8 per cent, while the educational service recorded a smaller increase of 0.7 per cent. By contrast, civil service employment declined by 0.7 per cent. The security forces recorded the largest increase in staff, adding 380 employees to reach 14,065, compared with 13,685 in October 2025. Meanwhile, the educational service added 120 employees, bringing its workforce to 18,292 from 18,172 a year earlier. The civil service, however, remained the largest of the three services, although its workforce fell by 159 employees, from 23,119 to 22,960. Across the state workforce, permanent employees were the only category to record an overall increase, rising by 3.5 per cent from 32,825 to 33,961, an addition of 1,136 people. Employees with indefinite-duration contracts declined slightly by 0.2 per cent, from 9,649 to 9,633, while fixed-term employment fell by 13.1 per cent, from 5,807 to 5,044. Hourly paid workers also decreased by 0.2 per cent, from 6,695 to 6,679. Within the civil service, permanent employment increased marginally by 0.1 per cent, from 11,893 to 11,908. However, employees with indefinite-duration contracts fell by 1.5 per cent, from 4,066 to 4,003, while hourly paid workers declined by 2.2 per cent, from 5,803 to 5,677. Fixed-term employment moved in the opposite direction, increasing by 1.1 per cent from 1,357 to 1,372. Education presented a different picture, with a substantial rise in permanent employment accompanied by declines in both indefinite-duration and fixed-term contracts. Permanent employees in the educational service increased by 8.1 per cent, from 12,466 to 13,473, an addition of 1,007 people. At the same time, employees with indefinite-duration contracts fell by 16.3 per cent, from 1,192 to 998, while fixed-term employees declined by 16 per cent, from 4,367 to 3,670. The number of hourly paid workers in education increased by 2.7 per cent, from 147 to 151. In the security forces, employment growth was spread across several categories, with hourly paid workers recording the strongest percentage increase, rising by 14.2 per cent from 745 to 851. Employees with indefinite-duration contracts increased by 5.5 per cent, from 4,391 to 4,632, while permanent employment rose by 1.3 per cent, from 8,466 to 8,580. By contrast, fixed-term employment in the security forces plunged by 97.6 per cent, from 83 employees to just two. According to Cystat, the sharp decline mainly reflected the completion and non-renewal of specific fixed-term contracts from August 2025 onwards. Looking at the broader picture, average state employment increased by 0.5 per cent during the first ten months of 2026 compared with the corresponding period of 2025. Average permanent employment rose by 0.8 per cent, while indefinite-duration employment increased by 1.3 per cent. However, fixed-term employment declined by 2.4 per cent and hourly paid employment fell by 0.2 per cent. Across the individual services, average civil service employment decreased by 1 per cent during the January-October period. Permanent employment fell by 0.5 per cent, indefinite-duration contracts by 2.7 per cent and hourly paid employment by 1.5 per cent. Fixed-term employment, meanwhile, increased by 1.8 per cent. The educational service recorded average employment growth of 2.1 per cent over the ten months, with indefinite-duration employment posting the strongest increase at 15.4 per cent. Permanent employment in education rose by 1.5 per cent, fixed-term employment by 0.9 per cent and hourly paid employment by 2.3 per cent. Meanwhile, average employment in the security forces increased by 0.8 per cent. Permanent employment rose by 1.7 per cent, indefinite-duration employment by 2 per cent and hourly paid employment by 9.6 per cent. Fixed-term employment, however, fell by 91.1 per cent over the same period, reflecting the continued sharp reduction in this category.