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Cyprus recorded one of the sharpest improvements in employment across the European Union at the end of 2025, according to newly released data from Eurostat.
Figures for the fourth quarter of 2025 show that the share of people aged 20–64 in work rose across the EU to 76.3%, a slight increase from 76.2% in the previous quarter. While the EU-wide change was modest, Cyprus stood out among member states for a more notable improvement.
Cyprus among the strongest performers
Between the third and fourth quarters of 2025, Cyprus recorded a 0.6 percentage-point increase in its employment rate, the largest rise among EU countries during that period.
Several other countries also saw improvements, though to a lesser extent. Austria, Latvia, Greece and Spain each reported gains of 0.4 percentage points.
Overall, employment increased in 11 EU countries, remained unchanged in five, and declined in another 11. The sharpest quarterly drop was reported in Luxembourg, where the employment rate fell by 1.1 percentage points. Denmark and Estonia both posted decreases of 0.6 points, while Malta recorded a 0.5-point decline.
EU labour market picture
Despite the gradual improvement in employment levels, labour market pressures across the EU showed little change.
Eurostat’s measure of “labour market slack”, which captures all people who want work but are not fully employed, including the unemployed and those marginally attached to the labour market, stood at 11.0% of the extended labour force in the final quarter of 2025. That figure was unchanged compared with the third quarter.
The extended labour force includes people who are employed, unemployed, those seeking work but not immediately available, and individuals available for work but not actively looking.
Gradual recovery continues
The latest data suggest that the EU labour market continued its slow but steady recovery through late 2025, with employment levels edging upward despite mixed results across individual countries.
For Cyprus, the stronger quarterly increase places the country among the top performers in employment growth within the bloc during the final months of the year, contrasting with several northern and central European economies where employment rates slipped.
Eurostat’s figures are based on seasonally adjusted results from the EU Labour Force Survey and cover the working-age population between 20 and 64 years old.
