Cyprus’s employment rate stood at 82.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, Eurostat data published on Friday showed. That puts the country 5.9 percentage points above the EU average.
The rate, covering people aged 20 to 64, held steady in Cyprus from the first quarter to the second. The EU-wide rate, by contrast, edged up over the same period, from 76.3 per cent to 76.4 per cent.
Between the first and second quarters of 2026, the employment rate rose in 14 EU countries, stayed unchanged in four, including Cyprus, and fell in nine.
Portugal and Malta recorded the largest increases: both up 0.6 percentage points. Greece followed with a 0.5-point rise, while Latvia and Slovenia both saw increases of 0.4 percentage points.
At the other end of the scale, Austria posted the largest fall, down 0.4 percentage points. Lithuania and Sweden each slipped by 0.3 percentage points.
EU’s unused labour force at 11 per cent
The EU’s unused labour force stood at 11 per cent of the extended labour force aged 20 to 64 in the second quarter of 2026, holding steady on the previous quarter.
This indicator includes people with an unmet need for employment and is not limited to the unemployed, Eurostat noted.
