Labour market landscape: number of jobs increasing, wages remain the same

Hundreds of new jobs are opening up in Cyprus every month but wages remain at low levels, a kariera.com.cy research found.

According to Kariera, more than 1,500 new job ads are posted on online job recruiting websites every month.

Most employers offer an average monthly salary of around € 830. There are also some jobs with salaries of €1,660. Very few jobs offer salaries of up to € 2,500.

Jobs by annual salary offered

Up to € 10,000: 

• Sales jobs
• Kitchen assistants
• Maids

€ 10,000 – € 20,000: 

• Accountants/assistant accountants
• Engineers
• Marketing/Public Relations
• Forex employees
• Waiters
• Baristas
• Secretaries
• Electricians
• Warehouse-keepers

€ 20,000 – 30,000: 

• Forex employees
• Insurers
• Marketing/Advertising
• Drivers
• Sales directors
• Administrative directors
• Lawyers
• Economists
• IT managers
• Auditors
• Accountants

Available positions

Currently, employees are seeking for:

• Waiters and baristas in Larnaca, Nicosia, Paphos.
• Office managers, customer service officers, senior secretaries, assistant secretaries, control centre operators, finance officers, Russian-speaking corporate administrators, call centre managers, warehouse managers, store managers, sales and karmeting officers, social media marketing, pharmacists, pharmaceutical sales representatives, department managers, kitchen managers, kitchen assistants, product managers, social media coordinators and video animators.
• There is also demand for security guards and cleaners for offices, stores and banks, as well as store managers, website developers, graphic designers in Larnaca and recruitment consultants in Limassol.
• Additionally, there is a number of vacancies in auditing services: senior advisor (internal audit, risk and compliance services department), qualified accountant supervisor, trainee accountants, audit department, chief financial officer, audit consultants, risk advisory department, credit controller, corporate group controller.

Unemployment

According to latest Eurostat data, in January 2018, unemployment in Cyprus stood at 9.8%, representing a 2.8% decrease compared to the same month in 2017 (12.6%).

According to data kept at District Labour Offices, the number of registered unemployed persons in late February 2018 stood at 34,204.  Compared to February 2017, there was a 19.2% decrease (8,122 persons), which is indicative of the considerable downwards trend of unemployment in Cyprus.

In 2017, the unemployment rate for young people between 15 and 24 years of age stood at 24.7%, representing a 4.4% decrease compared to 2016.

The highest decrease in terms of numbers in unemployment was reported in the districts of Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca (by 2,792 persons, 2,597 persons and 1,628 persons, respectively), while the decrease in the district of Paphos was 1,192 persons.

The highest decreases in terms of numbers by area of economic activity compared to the same month in 2017 were reported in the areas of public administration (by 2,002 persons), trade (by 1,341 persons), construction (by 1,067 persons) and processing (by 686 persons).

In 2017, Greek Cypriots made up the majority of the unemployed population, with 22,628 persons (66%). Of the total unemployed population, 6,729 persons (20%) were European citizens.

New entrants

The number of European new entrants who came to Cyprus to work during the first three months of 2018 stood at 441 persons, accounting for 10% of the total number of new entrants to the Cypriot labour market.

Of the total number of European new entrants, 39% came from Greece, 17% from Romania, 18% from Bulgaria and 9% from the United Kingdom.

Out of the total number of European new entrants, most stated that they wish to work as service providers, in tourism, as salespersons or as unskilled workers.

Half of the Europeans registered as unemployed have secondary-level general or technical education (48%), followed by higher education graduates (32%) and those with primary education (20%).

Cypriots are not eager to move abroad

The Public Employment Services website states that there are 3,330 unemployed people who have declared their desire to work in Europe. They account for only 7.5% of the total number of registered unemployed persons, which reflects the fact that Cypriots are not eager to move abroad to work.

According to European Job Mobility Portal (EURES) statistics, more willing to move are, male higher education graduates, aged 21-35.