Cyprus has seen a decline in its overall unemployment rate, which fell to 4.3 per cent in December 2025, according to Eurostat. This marks a positive shift in the island’s labour market conditions compared to the same month in the previous year.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, reported that the euro area unemployment rate also decreased slightly to 6.2 per cent from 6.3 per cent in November 2025. In a broader context, the EU unemployment rate remained stable at 5.9 per cent in December 2025, unchanged from November 2025 and the previous year.
The number of unemployed individuals in the EU stood at approximately 13,043,000 in December 2025, with 10,792,000 of these in the euro area. Comparatively, unemployment fell by 94,000 in the EU and by 61,000 in the euro area from November to December 2025.
For Cyprus, this reduction translated to about 23,000 unemployed people, a decrease from roughly 24,000 in December 2024. The unemployment rate dropped from 4.7 per cent in December 2024 to 4.3 per cent in December 2025, reflecting the improvements in the job market.
However, the situation for young people in Cyprus presents a contrasting narrative. Despite the overall improvement, youth unemployment has risen significantly. As of December 2025, around 4,000 individuals under the age of 25 were unemployed, up from approximately 3,000 in December 2024. This has driven the youth unemployment rate to 12.9 per cent, a notable increase from 10 per cent a year earlier.
Across the EU, youth unemployment figures also reveal a complex scenario. In December 2025, 2,857,000 young people were unemployed, with 2,257,000 in the euro area. The EU youth unemployment rate slightly decreased to 14.7 per cent, down from 14.9 per cent in November 2025, while the euro area observed a similar trend, easing to 14.3 per cent.
Eurostat’s data also highlights gender disparities in the unemployment rates. In the EU, the unemployment rate for women fell to 6.0 per cent in December 2025 from 6.1 per cent the previous month, while the rate for men remained stable at 5.8 per cent. In the euro area, female unemployment was recorded at 6.4 per cent, and male unemployment at 6.1 per cent, both unchanged from November.
These statistics are based on the International Labour Organisation’s standard definition of unemployment, which includes individuals without a job who have actively sought work in the past four weeks and are available to start work within the next two weeks. To provide a broader picture of labour market conditions, Eurostat has released additional indicators, such as the number of underemployed part-time workers and those marginally attached to the labour force.
