Cyprus Unemployment Falls To 4% In First Quarter

Improved Unemployment Figures Signal Economic Recovery

Cyprus’ unemployment rate fell to 4% in the first quarter of 2026, down from 5% in the same period a year earlier, according to data released by Cystat. The number of unemployed people declined to 21,246 from 26,161 in Q1 2025, reflecting continued strength in the country’s labour market.

Gains In Employment Across All Demographics

Employment increased across the economy, with the number of employed persons rising to 510,265 from 493,272 in the first quarter of 2025. As a result, the employment rate reached 62.1%, up from 61.2% a year earlier, while the labour force expanded to 531,511 people, representing 64.7% of the population. The unemployment rate stood at 4% for both men and women. Among people aged 20 to 64, the employment rate increased to 81.5%, indicating continued gains across core working-age groups.

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Sectoral Contributions And Contract Trends

Services remained the largest source of employment, accounting for 81.8% of all jobs. Industry represented 16.3% of employment, while agriculture accounted for 1.9%. Part-time employment rose slightly to 8.9% from 8.8% in the first quarter of 2025. The share of workers employed on temporary contracts increased more noticeably, reaching 14.5% compared with 12.9% a year earlier.

Youth Unemployment: A Growing Concern

Despite broader labour market improvements, unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 increased to 13.1% from 11.2% in the same quarter of 2025. The youth unemployment rate was higher among men at 15.8%, compared with 10.5% among women. At the same time, 63.9% of unemployed people had been searching for work for less than six months, while the share of long-term unemployed fell to 20.3% from 23.5% a year earlier.

Conclusion

The latest figures point to continued improvement in Cyprus’ labour market, supported by rising employment and lower overall unemployment. However, the increase in youth unemployment suggests challenges remain for younger job seekers despite broader gains across the economy.

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Only 1% Of Cyprus Farms Use Precision Farming Technologies

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

July 24, 2026

Cyprus remains one of the European Union’s least digitised agricultural economies, with just 1% of farms using precision farming technologies in 2023, according to Eurostat.

The findings come as the EU continues to encourage the adoption of digital tools aimed at improving agricultural productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

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Internet Access Expands, But Digital Uptake Lags

Internet access has improved across the bloc, although adoption remains uneven. Eurostat found that 43% of EU farms had internet access in 2023, with northern and central European countries leading the way.

Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, the Czech Republic and Austria all reported internet access rates above 90%.

Greater connectivity, however, has not translated into widespread digital adoption. Farm management information systems, which help farmers manage day-to-day operations, were used by only about 11% of EU farms. France was a notable exception, with around 60% of farms using the technology.

Precision Farming Concentrated In Larger Operations

Robotics adoption also remained relatively limited, with only about 7% of EU farms using robotic technologies. Overall, around 18% of farms with utilised agricultural area employed at least one precision farming technology or practice in 2023.

These included robotics for plant protection, band spraying, variable-rate application, precision crop monitoring and soil analysis. Despite representing fewer than one in five farms, these holdings accounted for around 44% of the EU’s utilised agricultural area.

The figures suggest that precision farming remains concentrated among larger agricultural businesses, where investment in digital technologies is typically easier to support.

Cyprus Lags Behind EU Leaders

Luxembourg, Finland and Estonia recorded the highest shares of utilised agricultural area managed by farms using precision farming technologies, each exceeding 75%.

At the other end of the ranking, Cyprus recorded just 1%, while Greece and Romania reported between 10% and 15%. The results indicate that Cyprus remains at an early stage of digital adoption in agriculture, even as precision farming becomes more widespread across parts of the European Union.

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