RISING unemployment in Cyprus is taking worrying dimensions, according to the latest information released by the state Statistics Services.
By the end of November, there were almost 21,000 unemployed people in Cyprus, representing a 73 per cent rise compared to the same month last year.
“The trend of registered unemployment indicated a stabilisation in the period between May and July, but now displays a rise in the last four months between August and November,” the Statistics Services read.
District Labour offices are being flooded with registered unemployed people, while the exact number of jobless by the end of November was 20,892. November was a record month for unemployment as it marked a 21 per cent increase in jobless numbers over October this year, when the unemployment toll was 17,263.
The rapid increase of unemployment in November is attributed to the mass layoffs in the construction and hotel and restaurant sectors. Each year, November 1 marks the temporary closure or work suspension for the hotel industry, as some hotels cannot sustain their operation in the winter months.
Specifically, the number of unemployed workers in the construction industry rose from 2,945 people in October to 3,157 in November. The situation in the tourist industry appears even more dramatic as the number of the registered unemployed in the Hotel and Restaurant sector rose from 1,818 in October to 3,776 in November.
However, when Statistics Services adjusted the figures to seasonal variations, the November increase represents merely a 1.6 per cent rise compared to the previous month. In real terms, however, the increase is worrying, particularly when the figures are compared to last year’s data.
In November 2009 there were 8,819 more unemployed people, compared to November 2008, representing a whopping 73 per cent increase. This significant rise is attributed to the impacts of the international financial crisis on the Cypriot employment market.
Unemployment is concentrated in the construction sector with 2,087 more unemployed people, trade with 1,404, and hotel and restaurants with 1,322 more. In addition, there are 885 more unemployed in the public sector, 798 in real estate management, and 735 new entrants in the job market who did not secure employment.
In October and November there was a shift in the usual trend in Cyprus, whereby there are usually more unemployed women than men. In these two months, more men lost their jobs than women did. In November there were 10,638 unemployed men, compared to 10,254 women. This fact is attributed to the type of sectors that were most hard-hit. The construction and hotel sectors, traditionally provide employment to males.
Meanwhile, the increase in unemployment in the hotel sector means that seaside districts where hotels are concentrated have the largest unemployment figures. Larnaca and Famagusta top the list where the unemployment figure reached 6,620 in November, compared to 4,521 in October, representing a 46.4 per cent increase. In Nicosia, the figure was 6,223 in November, in Limassol 5,183 and in Paphos 2,866.
