A power outage at a Google Cloud data centre near London disrupted services across the UK on Tuesday, affecting banks, businesses and other digital platforms. Google said the incident was caused by a power event at its cloud operations, with full recovery expected by around 1300 GMT.

The disruption began at 0608 GMT and affected Google Cloud services in the europe-west2 region, which is hosted in London. In an initial update, the company reported elevated error rates and intermittent network failures across multiple services as engineers worked to restore operations.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Banking Services Hit By The Disruption

Revolut was among the most visibly affected companies, with customers reporting problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. A source close to the matter linked the issues to the Google Cloud outage.

Traditional banks also reported disruptions. Lloyds said some customers were experiencing problems with its app and online banking, while HSBC confirmed difficulties accessing its services. HSBC added that it was monitoring the situation and noted that other organisations were affected as well.

Disruption Spreads Beyond Finance

Downdetector, which tracks online service disruptions, recorded hundreds of reports involving other businesses, including property website Rightmove and the Royal Mail postal service. The reports suggested that the outage was affecting multiple parts of the UK’s digital economy.

The incident highlights the risks facing businesses that depend on shared cloud infrastructure. Even a temporary failure at a single provider can disrupt services across several sectors, from banking and payments to logistics and consumer platforms.

Companies Reassure Customers

Revolut said it had been working to resolve the issue since it was identified and apologised to affected customers. The company also confirmed that customers’ money and data remained safe.

As cloud platforms underpin an increasing share of digital commerce, the outage illustrates how disruptions to critical infrastructure can spread far beyond the provider itself, affecting businesses and customers across the economy.

Bookings for Cyprus in 2027 through Britain’s three largest tour operators are running 20% to 30% below last year’s levels, raising concerns about the island’s tourism outlook despite signs of stabilisation following a difficult summer.

Evripides Loizides, president of the Paphos Hotels Association, said on Tuesday that Cyprus needed to strengthen its international promotion as growing competition and continued uncertainty influenced holiday decisions.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Summer Recovery Fails To Offset Earlier Losses

Loizides said the 2026 summer season began strongly before conflict and its wider economic consequences disrupted demand. Hotels subsequently suffered significant losses, with occupancy across the three summer months and September ending approximately 7% below the same period in 2025.

The sector is also facing pressure from the expansion of short-term holiday rentals and accommodation in the occupied area, which Loizides said was eroding the market share of established hotels.

September performed somewhat better than a year earlier, while October also showed encouraging signs. However, the outlook for the coming months remains uncertain.

Britain Remains A Key Market

Tourist activity in Cyprus typically begins to slow after November 10, according to Loizides, with demand declining sharply during the winter season.

The UK remains a particular concern as Cyprus’ largest source market. Economic uncertainty and higher living costs are weighing on British households’ discretionary spending, potentially affecting their holiday plans.

Poland continues to be an important market for Paphos, while arrivals from Israel have also supported tourism this year. However, Loizides noted that demand from Israel remains closely linked to developments and stability in the country.

September Arrivals Rise, But Year-To-Date Figures Remain Lower

Official figures show that Cyprus welcomed 580,889 tourists in September, up 1.8% year on year. British visitors accounted for 184,345 arrivals, or 31.7% of the total, while Israel ranked second with 105,249 visitors, representing 18.1%.

Despite September’s growth, arrivals between January and September reached approximately 3.4 million, down 5.6% from the same period in 2025.

Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said on Monday that preparations for 2027 were already under way, with a focus on recovering markets affected by external shocks.

Tourism Promotion Must Start Early

Loizides argued that Cyprus needed to act before the next booking cycle gathers pace. Most reservations are made between January and March, making early promotion in key source markets particularly important.

He called for closer coordination between the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, tourism organisations and airlines, emphasising the state’s role in promoting Cyprus internationally.

The deputy ministry’s 2027 budget allocates €26.9 million to tourism promotion campaigns, slightly below the €27.7 million allocated for 2026.

Rising Costs Add To Industry Pressures

Beyond weaker bookings, hotels are contending with higher operating costs, staff shortages during the summer and uncertainty linked to international developments.

With early bookings from the UK already trailing last year, Cyprus faces the challenge of turning its recent improvement in arrivals into sustained demand for 2027. The response will depend in part on how effectively the island promotes itself in key markets before travellers finalise their holiday plans.

Ryanair is cutting 20 routes and more than one million seats from its Belgian winter 2026 schedule, citing higher aviation taxes and rising fuel costs. The airline said it would reduce its fleet by six aircraft across Brussels Charleroi and Brussels Zaventem, representing a $600 million reduction in investment.

At the centre of the dispute is Belgium’s planned aviation tax increase, from €2 per ticket in January 2025 to €7 in January 2027. Ryanair argues that higher charges will make the country less competitive than European markets with lower operating costs.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

O’Leary Warns Of Higher Fares In 2027

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has also warned that airfares could rise significantly next year as the airline’s existing fuel price protection expires.

“We guarantee no fuel surcharges, but there is no doubt that air fares are going to rise significantly in 2027 because of much higher oil prices,” O’Leary told Euronews.

The airline has secured fuel prices at approximately $67 per barrel for 2026 through advance pricing agreements. O’Leary expects costs to roughly double next year as that protection ends.

Oil prices have risen amid the war in the Middle East and concerns over supply routes through the Persian Gulf. Brent crude closed at $109.86 per barrel on Friday, its highest level since May, before moving above $110, according to the report.

Belgium Faces Pressure Over Aviation Taxes

O’Leary argues that aviation taxes do more than increase airline costs: they can also redirect passenger traffic, investment and tourism towards countries with lower charges.

“The Belgian government is doing exactly the opposite,” he said, warning that the planned increase could discourage investment, reduce passenger numbers, hurt tourism and cost jobs.

Ryanair said it had already redirected six aircraft, more than one million seats and 20 routes away from Belgium for winter 2026. The airline warned that further cuts could follow if the tax remains unchanged.

It also criticised the EU emissions trading system, arguing that it raises the cost of intra-EU flights while flights to destinations outside the bloc do not face the same burden. O’Leary called for Belgium to abolish aviation taxes, saying higher charges would shift demand and tourism towards more competitively priced destinations elsewhere in Europe.

Airlines Face Wider Cost Pressures

Belgium’s planned tax increase was reduced from an earlier proposal to charge €10 per ticket following industry pressure. Ryanair maintains, however, that the revised rate remains too high.

The capacity cuts come as other airlines also adjust their schedules amid challenging market conditions. Sweden’s SAS and easyJet have both reduced flights this year.

Ryanair is urging the Belgian government to reconsider the tax, warning that maintaining higher charges could further weaken the country’s aviation market.

Cyprus is sharpening its position on the European chess map, with the island’s rising profile now drawing attention at the highest levels of the sport.

Fide Leadership Backs Cyprus’ Chess Ambitions

International Chess Federation (FIDE) president Timur Turlov, who also leads Freedom Holding Corp and Freedom24, met President Nikos Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on Monday to discuss the future of chess development in Cyprus. The talks centered on the island’s growing importance in European chess and the momentum built since Freedom became general partner of the Cyprus Chess Federation in 2023.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“In three years, Cyprus has become one of Europe’s chess hubs, and we want to keep building on that,” Turlov said. “It was important for us to present our plans for chess on the island to the President, and we are grateful for his time and attention to the game.”

A Broader Strategy For Growth

Turlov was elected FIDE president on September 26 at the federation’s congress in Samarkand. His 2027–2030 programme calls for roughly €30 million in funding over four years to support global chess development, including an annual development fund of €6.2 million, nearly four times the current budget.

The proposed funding is designed to expand competition opportunities, strengthen youth development, improve chess education, support coaches and arbiters, accelerate digital tools, and promote women’s chess.

Cyprus Has Become A Proven Host For Major Events

Since Freedom became the federation’s general partner in 2023, Cyprus has hosted 26 tournaments, including stages of the FIDE Women’s World Grand Prix in Nicosia in 2023 and 2025. The island also welcomed the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which featured a €1 million prize fund and brought top international players to Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort.

For Cyprus, that event carried symbolic weight. It was the first time in the country’s chess history that the world’s leading contenders had competed on the island, underscoring its emergence as a credible destination for elite international chess.

Building A Pipeline For The Next Generation

The local ecosystem is also expanding at the grassroots level. The Freedom24 Chess Academy opened in Limassol on March 1, 2025, under the leadership of International Master Artem Sadovsky. Its mission is to develop competitive players capable of representing Cyprus on the international stage.

According to the Cyprus Chess Federation, around 2,000 people in Cyprus now play chess actively, most of them children. That matters: a sustainable chess economy, like any successful sports ecosystem, depends not only on marquee tournaments but also on a steady pipeline of young talent, coaching infrastructure and institutional support.

As Cyprus continues to invest in the game, it is increasingly positioning itself not just as a host nation, but as a serious contributor to the future of European chess.

Cyprus recorded a poverty or social exclusion risk rate of 17.1% in 2025, below the European Union average of 20.9%, according to new Eurostat figures. Across the bloc, however, more than 92 million people continued to face the risk, highlighting persistent social and economic inequalities.

More Than 92 Million People At Risk Across The EU

A total of 92.7 million people across the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025, equivalent to just over one in five residents.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Cyprus is treated as a single statistical region because of its size, unlike many member states divided into multiple regions for comparison. Its national figure therefore provides an overall picture but does not capture differences between districts or communities.

Regional Gaps Remain Stark Across Europe

The risk varied considerably across the EU, with the highest rates concentrated largely in southern, eastern and outermost regions. In 24 of the 243 regions with available data, at least 31.5% of the population faced poverty or social exclusion.

These regions were located in Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, France and Romania, as well as Brussels in Belgium and Bremen in north-western Germany.

French Guiana recorded the highest rate, at 54.8%, followed by Calabria in southern Italy at 45.3% and Sicily at 44%. Melilla, a Spanish autonomous city, recorded 43.7%, while Réunion, another French outermost region, stood at 42.3%.

Central Europe Records The Lowest Rates

At the other end of the scale, 24 regions reported poverty or social exclusion risk rates below 13% in 2025. These included five eastern EU capital regions: Bratislava in Slovakia, Warsaw in Poland, Prague in the Czech Republic, Budapest in Hungary and Zagreb in Croatia.

Other regions with low rates were concentrated in northern Italy, the Czech Republic, northern Belgium, Hungary, Poland and Austria, illustrating the uneven distribution of economic security across Europe.

Cyprus Remains Below The EU Average

Cyprus’ rate of 17.1% places it below the EU average, although it remains higher than the levels recorded in the bloc’s lowest-risk regions.

The figures suggest that Cyprus performs relatively well compared with the wider EU, but poverty and social exclusion remain significant challenges across the bloc, affecting more than 92 million people.

Cyprus is undergoing a structural shift towards digital payments, reshaping consumer behaviour, banking infrastructure and everyday transactions. Cash is gradually losing ground as payment cards, electronic transfers and online commerce become increasingly important.

According to the Central Bank of Cyprus’ October 2026 Statistical Bulletin, payment habits changed significantly between 2022 and 2025, alongside a contraction in physical banking infrastructure and growing reliance on digital financial services.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

ATMs Are Disappearing As Cash Demand Fades

One of the clearest signs of this transition is the decline in automated teller machines. As electronic payments become more common, banks are reducing operating costs by closing cash withdrawal points and scaling back traditional branch-based services.

According to Table 7.1, Cyprus had 396 active ATMs at the end of 2025, down from 416 in June 2022, a decline of 4.8%. The reduction reflects a gradual contraction in the country’s cash infrastructure, although ATMs remain important for consumers who still rely on physical money.

Card Payments Continue To Expand

While the ATM network has shrunk, the number of payment cards has increased. Table 7.2 shows that 2,220,202 active cards were in circulation in December 2025, compared with 1,659,011 in June 2022 and 1,859,006 in December 2023.

The total rose by 561,191 cards between June 2022 and December 2025, an increase of 33.8%. This growth highlights the expanding role of cards in everyday spending and suggests that many consumers hold more than one card for different accounts or payment needs.

Cards Dominate Transactions, But E-Banking Handles The Largest Values

Data from Charts 7.1 and 7.2 reveals a clear difference between payment frequency and total value. Cards accounted for 75% of transaction volume in the second half of 2025, making them the leading method for everyday purchases. Credit transfers through e-banking, however, represented 84% of total transaction value, while cards accounted for just 6%.

The figures reflect different spending patterns. Cards are commonly used for groceries, fuel and other routine purchases, while electronic bank transfers handle larger payments, including rent and utility bills. Traditional cheques have become marginal, accounting for only 1% of transaction volume.

Cross-Border Payments Connect Cyprus To Global Markets

The geographic breakdown in Chart 7.3 highlights the international reach of Cyprus’ payment system. Credit transfers and direct debits remain largely domestic, while card payments and e-money transactions show greater cross-border activity.

International platforms account for a growing share of transactions, particularly those involving online shopping, subscription services and airline travel. Digital payments are making cross-border purchases increasingly routine, connecting Cypriot consumers with businesses and service providers abroad.

Online Commerce Captures The Higher-Value Spending

By the end of 2025, point-of-sale transactions in physical stores accounted for 70% of transaction volume, while online commerce represented 60% of total transaction value.

The difference reflects how consumers spend. Physical shops remain the destination for frequent, lower-value purchases, while online transactions often involve airline tickets, hotel bookings and higher-priced equipment. As a result, physical retail leads in transaction frequency, but e-commerce captures a larger share of spending by value.

Digital Payments Reshape Cyprus’ Financial Landscape

The figures point to a broader transformation in Cyprus’ payment ecosystem: ATM numbers are declining, payment cards are becoming more widespread, electronic transfers dominate transaction value, and online commerce accounts for a substantial share of spending.

Cash remains part of the economy, but digital methods increasingly shape how consumers make everyday purchases, settle larger bills and pay international providers. Cyprus reflects a wider shift across advanced economies, where cards and electronic channels are becoming central to consumer finance.

Limassol emerged as Cyprus’s leading construction market in the first half of 2026, topping the country’s three main indicators: the value of building permits, licensed floor area and the number of approved residential units.

The district recorded €853.24 million in approved projects and 719,944 square metres of licensed floor area. It also approved 3,527 new residential units, a 61.94% increase from the same period in 2025, according to data from the Cyprus Statistical Service obtained through the Limassol District Self-Government Organisation (EOA Limassol).

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Construction Activity Accelerates Nationwide

Across Cyprus, the total value of building permits reached €2.57 billion in the first half of 2026, while licensed floor area exceeded 2.09 million square metres. Compared with the same period last year, permit value rose by 48.15% and licensed area increased by 47.06%.

Limassol accounted for 34.3% of the country’s total licensed floor area, ahead of Nicosia at 632,145 square metres. Its licensed area increased by 34.69% year on year, from 534,531 square metres.

The district’s approved project value rose by 34.54%, from €634.20 million to €853.24 million, representing 33.2% of the national total and an additional €219 million in approved construction value.

Housing was another major driver. Limassol’s 3,527 approved residential units represented 31.8% of the 11,099 units licensed across Cyprus in the first six months of the year.

Faster Permitting Supports Development

Part of Limassol’s strong performance appears to be linked to faster processing of building permit applications by EOA Limassol. The most significant gains came in May and June, when approvals increased sharply and the district’s key indicators more than doubled compared with the same two months in 2025.

“The efficient and rapid processing of building permit applications plays a decisive role in promoting investment and sustaining the district’s development momentum, while also contributing to broader economic activity,” said Yiannis Tsoulouftas, president of EOA Limassol.

His comments highlight the role of administrative capacity in high-growth property markets, where efficient permitting can help projects move forward and support investment.

EOA Limassol Focuses On Long-Term Efficiency

Maintaining the pace of development will require the authority to continue improving application reviews, transparency and services for residents, planners and investors.

Tsoulouftas said EOA Limassol was strengthening its organisation and improving the effectiveness of the licensing process. He expects performance to improve further by the end of 2026 as the authority adapts to the district’s rapid growth.

“A simple tour of our city shows the unprecedented construction growth. The entire city is a huge worksite, with buildings rising on every corner,” he said.

He attributed the organisation’s progress to methodical, scientifically grounded management and the development of an effective structure within its licensing directorate. The approach, he said, is intended to deliver results without unnecessary expenditure or inefficient organisational structures.

“We are focused on building an organisation that is economically and operationally sustainable over time. We are not making panic-driven or showy moves, nor are we focusing on short-term gains that could create long-term problems,” Tsoulouftas said.

Financial Stability And Digital Transformation

Tsoulouftas also identified financial stability as an important asset for the organisation’s future. He said it would provide scope to improve performance, support major development projects and invest in digital transformation.

Modernising services and improving operational efficiency will be increasingly important as Limassol’s construction pipeline expands.

The first-half figures underline the district’s position at the centre of Cyprus’s construction growth. The longer-term challenge will be ensuring that permitting systems and public institutions can keep pace with development while maintaining efficient, sustainable operations.

Paphos and Limassol strengthened their positions in Cyprus’ off-plan property market in the third quarter of 2026, as recorded sales of homes under construction or at the planning stage rose by 48.5% quarter on quarter. According to Landbank Analytics, 1,956 sale agreements worth €606.4 million were recorded between July and September.

Limassol’s share of total transaction value increased from 32.4% to 40.5%, while Paphos raised its share of transactions from 12.8% to 17%. The figures highlight shifting market dynamics, with districts performing differently by sales volume and value.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Recorded Sales Rise By Almost Half

Recorded agreements increased from 1,317 in the second quarter to 1,956 in the third, while their combined value rose 51.6%, from €400.1 million to €606.4 million.

However, the reporting periods were not identical. The second-quarter dataset ran until June 29, while the third-quarter figures extended to September 30, meaning the comparison reflects recorded activity rather than a like-for-like measure of underlying demand.

The average value per agreement rose 2% to €310,019. Apartments recorded an average transaction value of €269,217 and a median of €214,500. For houses, the average was €478,138 and the median €380,000. Landbank Analytics stressed that these figures reflect the mix of properties sold and do not constitute a property price index.

Limassol Strengthens Its Position By Value

Limassol recorded 599 agreements worth €245.3 million, accounting for 30.6% of all transactions, up from 26.3% in the previous quarter. Its share of total transaction value rose by 8.1 percentage points to 40.5%.

Growth was particularly strong in Germasogeia, where transactions increased by 69.8%, and Limassol city, which recorded a 47.3% rise.

Germasogeia registered 73 agreements worth €44.8 million, compared with 43 in the second quarter. Its median transaction value was €383,762 and its average €613,991, with prices ranging from €95,000 to €5.092 million.

Agios Tychonas recorded 16 sales worth €18.1 million. Prices ranged from €125,000 to €5.8 million, with a median value of €647,123 and an average of €1.13 million.

Limassol city remained the busiest locality, with 190 sales, up from 129. Its median transaction value was €292,500 and its average €357,042.

Paphos Gains Share In Sales And Value

Paphos increased its share of total transaction value from 21.2% to 22%. Paphos city recorded 96 sales, up from 79, with a median transaction value of €316,250 and an average of €407,912. Prices ranged from €65,000 to €3.567 million.

The district’s gains in both transaction volume and value made it one of the quarter’s strongest performers.

Homes Below €300,000 Dominate Sales

Properties priced below €300,000 accounted for 1,267 transactions, or 64.8% of all recorded sales. Although their share fell from 68.1% in the second quarter, lower- and mid-priced homes still represented nearly two-thirds of the market.

The largest bracket was €200,000 to €299,999, with 545 sales, or 27.9% of the total. The €300,000 to €499,999 segment recorded 521 transactions, representing 26.6%, up from 304 and 23.1% in the previous quarter.

Properties priced between €150,000 and €199,999 accounted for 418 sales, or 21.4%, while homes below €150,000 represented 304 transactions, or 15.5%.

Activity also increased in higher-priced categories. Sales in the €500,000 to €749,999 range rose from 66 to 94, while the €750,000 to €999,999 segment recorded 26 transactions. Properties priced at €1 million or more increased to 48 sales, from 33.

Landbank Group founder and chief executive Andreas Christophorides said the distribution of sales underlines the importance of pricing and product selection for developers.

“Selecting the right location, product type and price point is critical to the absorption of a project,” he said. “There is no single, uniform market, and it cannot be assessed through average prices or aggregate sales alone.”

Local Markets Show Different Momentum

Larnaca city recorded one of the strongest increases among leading local markets, with sales rising 74.6%, from 71 to 124. Its median transaction value was €205,000 and its average €237,843.

Lakatamia ranked third by transaction volume, with 111 sales, up 20.7% from 92. Its median value was €190,000 and its average €198,706.

Aradippou recorded 109 sales, down 10.7% from 122, with a median value of €185,000 and an average of €204,594. Strovolos registered 90 transactions, up 26.8%, while Livadia recorded 79. Germasogeia ranked eighth with 73 sales.

District Shares Continue To Shift

Nicosia’s share of recorded transactions fell from 34.5% to 25%, although the district still recorded 489 sales. Its share of total transaction value declined from 26.2% to 16.2%.

Larnaca’s share of transactions edged up from 23.8% to 24%, while its share of total value increased from 16.6% to 17.7%. Famagusta’s share of transactions rose from 2.6% to 3.4%, while its share of total value remained at 3.6%.

Christophorides said reliable market analysis requires more than headline sales figures, particularly in premium areas where a small number of expensive properties can significantly affect average values.

“Robust analysis must bring together volume, median value, the range of prices and the characteristics of the properties sold,” he said. “That is the basis for better development and investment decisions.”

The third-quarter results underline the importance of assessing each district by its transaction volumes, price distribution and property mix. Paphos gained ground by sales volume, while Limassol strengthened its position by value, highlighting the varied dynamics of Cyprus’ off-plan market.

As artificial intelligence reshapes the labour market, women could once again bear a disproportionate share of the disruption. History shows that technological change can eliminate established jobs while creating new opportunities, but the transition is rarely experienced equally.

A Familiar Pattern In A New Technology Cycle

Women may be particularly exposed because administrative, clerical and routine information-processing roles, traditionally dominated by female workers, are among those most vulnerable to automation.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

“AI is focused on routine tasks and numbers and finding patterns, and those types of jobs are the clerical, administrative jobs that a lot of women hold,” said Ariane Hegewisch, a senior research fellow at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. “It’s still 90% of secretaries and clerical workers who are women.”

In March, the International Labour Organization concluded that nearly one in 10 women in high-income countries work in an occupation facing the highest risk from AI.

The Telephone Switchboard Shock

In the 1940s, women accounted for nearly 95% of America’s telephone operators. The relatively well-paid but demanding job required months of training to handle hundreds of calls per hour.

AT&T’s introduction of automated telephone switching transformed the industry, eliminating an estimated 75,000 operator jobs. Economists James Feigenbaum of Boston University and Daniel P. Gross of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business examined the consequences using census and payroll data.

“The effect of this shock on incumbent operators was to dispossess many of their jobs and careers,” they wrote. Many workers moved into lower-paid jobs or left the labour force.

Economist David Autor says technological change can leave workers with skills tied to occupations that suddenly become obsolete. Because many people build their careers around one profession, displacement can mean moving into less desirable work.

Younger workers entering the labour market after the switchboard transition often found comparable jobs elsewhere, however. The experience illustrates how new opportunities can emerge even as established roles disappear.

Household Technology Expanded Paid Work

While automated switchboards eliminated a category of female-dominated employment, household appliances helped women devote more time to paid work. Economists including Jeremy Greenwood described appliances as “engines of liberation” because they reduced the hours spent on unpaid domestic labour.

Between 1950 and 1980, the number of employed women in the US rose by more than 25 million, while female labour force participation increased from 34% to 52%. Over the same period, 16 million more men found jobs, despite a slight decline in the male participation rate.

Changing gender norms, rising household wealth and the expansion of service industries also contributed to this growth. For the AI era, the question is whether new jobs will emerge quickly enough to absorb workers displaced by automation.

Personal Computers Transformed Office Work

Before personal computers became widespread, women dominated office administration. The 1980 US census recorded nearly 4.7 million secretaries, stenographers and typists, more than 98% of whom were women.

IBM introduced its personal computer in 1981, followed shortly by Microsoft Word. Executives could increasingly prepare their own documents, arrange travel and type memos, reducing the need for some clerical roles.

Yet computers also helped workers become more productive. Women who adapted to the technology could increase their value to employers, showing that automation can eliminate particular tasks while creating new advantages for those who use the tools effectively.

A 2022 paper by Marcus Dillender and Eliza Forsythe found that companies adopting software for office and administrative work saw employment in the sector fall by 1%, while wages for college graduates rose by 3%.

What AI Means For The Next Generation

Women today are, on average, more educated than in previous technological upheavals and more likely to hold managerial and professional positions. However, AI could reach beyond repetitive work into more complex tasks previously considered difficult to automate.

For businesses, it offers opportunities to increase productivity. For workers, it creates uncertainty, particularly in occupations where tasks can be digitised, standardised or predicted.

History does not show that technology inevitably harms women more than men. It does show that women have often been overrepresented in jobs exposed to automation. New opportunities sometimes follow, but not always quickly enough to prevent job losses or downward career moves.

AI may ultimately create more work than it destroys. The challenge will be ensuring that its benefits and costs are not distributed unevenly.

Employees in Cyprus earned more in 2025, but the figures show that wage growth remains uneven across the labour market. Median gross monthly earnings rose by 3.8% to €1,953, up from €1,881 in 2024, while average earnings increased by 4.3% to €2,591, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Average Pay Outpaces Median Earnings

The €638 gap between average and median monthly earnings highlights the uneven distribution of salaries. At roughly 33% above the median, the average is more heavily influenced by high earners, while the median provides a clearer picture of the typical employee’s position: half of workers earn less and half earn more.

Follow THE FUTURE on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X and Telegram

Cystat’s breakdown shows that the largest share of employees, 13%, earned between €1,000 and €1,249 a month before deductions. Another 11.4% earned between €1,500 and €1,749, while 11.2% fell into the €1,250 to €1,499 bracket. Overall, 24.2% of employees earned less than €1,500 per month, highlighting the continued importance of wage growth as households face higher living costs.

Gender Differences Persist Across Pay Bands

Women were more heavily represented in lower earnings brackets. Their share exceeded men’s by 3.3 percentage points among employees earning €1,000 to €1,249 a month, rising to a 3.5-point gap in the €1,250 to €1,499 bracket.

At the other end of the scale, men accounted for a share of employees earning €6,000 or more that was 3.1 percentage points higher than the corresponding proportion for women.

Finance Leads Sectoral Earnings

Average gross monthly earnings varied considerably by industry, ranging from €956 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €5,038 in financial and insurance activities. Every sector recorded annual growth in 2025, although the pace differed.

Mining and quarrying posted the strongest increase, at 10.3%, followed by information and communication at 7.7% and financial and insurance activities at 7%. Cystat cautioned that mining and quarrying employs relatively few people, making its figures more sensitive to changes in individual salaries.

Cypriot Employees Record Higher Median Pay

Nationality was another clear dividing line in the earnings data. Cypriot employees recorded median gross monthly earnings of €2,145, compared with €1,597 for non-Cypriot workers. The figures represented annual increases of 4.5% and 3.4%, respectively.

Average earnings followed a different pattern, with Cypriot employees earning €2,625 a month, up 4.7%, while non-Cypriot employees earned €2,524, an increase of 3.7%. The smaller gap in average pay illustrates how the distribution of higher salaries can affect comparisons.

Non-Cypriot workers were more heavily represented than Cypriot employees at both ends of the earnings scale: among those earning less than €1,500 a month and among those receiving €6,000 or more.

Sector Gaps Are Wider Among Non-Cypriot Workers

Differences between industries were even more pronounced when earnings were broken down by nationality. Among Cypriot employees, average gross monthly pay ranged from €1,744 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €4,383 in financial and insurance activities.

For non-Cypriot workers, the range was substantially wider, from €664 in agriculture, forestry and fishing to €6,649 in financial and insurance activities.

The figures highlight how earnings in Cyprus vary not only by sector but also by the composition of the workforce. Taken together, median salaries, average pay and the distribution across income brackets offer a more complete picture of the labour market than any single headline figure.