Cyprus’ labour market has recorded significant changes over the past 20 years with certain jobs showing remarkable growth and others remarkable decline.
The sectors of tourism, construction and retail are the main employers in recent years, according to the Statistical Service’s data analysed by Phileleftheros.
These show that the number of agricultural, forestry and fisheries workers remaining stable over the last 20 years. In 1999, the average number of employees was 6,432 and by the end of the second quarter of 2019 it was 6,070.
Mining workers are also at the same level, with 504 in 1999 compared to 478 by the end of 2019’s second quarter.
It is a different picture in the construction sector which has experienced a great growth in recent years.
The average number of workers in 1999 was 19,882, remaining at the same level in 2000. Demand increased in 2001 and the number of workers increased by 759.
From then on, an upward course was recorded up until the real estate bubble burst. In 2002, construction workers increased to 21,932 and by another 2,021 in 2003, reaching 23,953.
The boost the construction sector had taken as a result of credit expansion by the island’s banks led to an average of 37,326 employees in 2008, the highest number since 1999.
In 2013, the bubble burst and the average number of employees stood at 21,743. The average number of workers by end of the second quarter of 2019 was 29,520.
The sector of wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles has remained one of the biggest employers in Cyprus over the years.
In 1999, the average number of employees was 36,267 and by the end of the second quarter of 2019 it almost doubled to 63,669. In fact, compared to the first quarter of 2019, there was an increase of 2,022 employees.
The hotel and catering sector is one with a large number of employees throughout the years. In 1999, the average was 26,475 and by end of the second quarter of 2019 it was 51,553.
The financial and insurance sector employed an average of 13,903 employees in 1999 and by end of the second quarter of 2019 this was 18,962.
As for the information and communications sector, the average number of employees was 5,345 in 1999 compared to 12,014 by end of the second quarter of 2019.
The average number of people working in the arts, culture and entertainment industry was 3,776 in 1999 and 6,194 by end of the second quarter of 2019.
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https://in-cyprus.com/labour-markets-main-challenges/
