TWO THIRDS of people living in Cyprus are willing to move either region, country or both if they became unemployed or had trouble finding a job here, according to a report released yesterday.
The Eurobarometer report aimed to shed light on European attitudes to worker mobility.
The geographical and labour market mobility report revealed Cypriots are more ready to move, compared to the 48 per cent of Europeans who believe unemployment is a powerful reason to move.
According to the report, the majority of Europeans have never lived in another country, as only 10 per cent of Europeans have lived abroad for work and 13 per cent for education and training purposes at some point in their lives.
In Cyprus, however twice the EU average (26 per cent) of people have gone abroad for education and Cypriots are also among the most likely to have lived abroad without working there (9 per cent).
The countries most favoured by Cypriots heading abroad were Greece and the UK.
Overall the report revealed that most Europeans think moving countries or regions is good for EU integration, half think it’s good for the economy, labour market and individuals, but only a third think it’s good for families. Cyprus was one the countries most against the notion that mobility is good for the family, with only 19 per cent agreeing.
In fact, half of all Cypriot respondents thought mobility was bad for families and they were also the most likely among Europeans to give the reason of not wanting to impose big changes on their families when asked what might discourage them from working abroad (57 per cent).
Although only 2.3 per cent of Europeans currently reside in a member state other than their own, close to one in five envisage themselves working abroad in the future, with a considerable 34 per cent rating the chances of finding a job abroad better than at home.
“The right to live and work in another European country is one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms, but too few people currently take advantage of this right.” said László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. “Worker mobility can help reduce unemployment by matching people with jobs available. Europeans recognise this fact, but still face barriers to moving around Europe for work. That’s why we want to make it easier for them to move around and have made this is a priority in our Europe 2020 Strategy.”
