Cyprus GDP and employment up according to Eurostat

Both GDP and employment increased during the 4th quarter of 2022 compared to the previous quarter in Cyprus, while in the eurozone GDP remained stable and employment increased and in the EU GDP fell and employment increased, according to estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU.

Cyprus in particular had the third-largest increase in GDP and the fourth-largest increase in employment compared to the 3rd quarter of the year.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.1% in Cyprus (remained stable in the euro area and decreased by 0.1% in the EU), compared with the previous quarter, while employment increased by 0.7% (+0.3% in both eurozone and EU).

Regarding GDP, during the 3rd quarter of 2022, there was a growth of 1.6% in Cyprus (+0.4% in both the euro area and in the EU).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 4.5% in Cyprus (+1.8% in the euro area and by 1.7% in the EU) in the fourth quarter of 2022, after having increased by 5.3% (+2.4% in the euro area and +2.6% in the EU) in the previous quarter.

For the year 2022 as a whole, GDP increased by 3.5% in both the euro area and the EU, after +5.3% and +5.4% respectively in 2021.

During the fourth quarter of 2022, GDP in the United States increased by 0.7% compared to the previous quarter (after +0.8% in the third quarter of 2022). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP increased by 0.9% (after +1.9% in the previous quarter).

By member state, Greece (+1.4%) recorded the highest increase in GDP compared to the previous quarter, followed by Malta (+1.2%) and Cyprus (+1.1%).

The highest decreases were observed in Poland (-2.4%), Estonia (-1.6%) and Finland (-0.6%).

Regarding different GDP components, during the fourth quarter of 2022, household final consumption expenditure decreased by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU (after +0.9% in the euro area and +0.7% in the EU in the previous quarter). Government final consumption expenditure increased by 0.7% in both the euro area and the EU (after -0.2% in both zones in the previous quarter). Gross fixed capital formation decreased by 3.6% in the euro area and by 2.8% in the EU (after +3.9% and +3.5% respectively). Exports increased by 0.1% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU (after +1.7% and +1.9%). Imports decreased by 1.9% in both the euro area and the EU (after +4.2% and +3.9% in the previous quarter)

Regarding the contributions to the growth of different sectors, Household final consumption expenditure had negative contributions to GDP growth in both the euro area and the EU (-0.4 percentage points – pp in both zones). The contributions from final government expenditure were positive for both zones (+0.2 pp for the euro area and +0.1 pp for the EU). The contributions of gross fixed capital formation were negative for the euro area (-0.8 pp) and for the EU (-0.6 pp). The contributions from the external balance were positive (+1.0 pp for the euro area and +0.9 pp for the EU). The contributions from changes in inventories were positive for the euro area (+0.1 pp) and negative for the EU (-0.1 pp).

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, GDP volumes in the euro area and EU were 2.4% and 2.8% respectively above the level recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak. For the United States, GDP was 5.1% higher than the level of the fourth quarter of 2019.

Employment increased overall

The number of employed persons increased by 0.7% in Cyprus (+0.3% both in the euro area and in the EU) in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2022, employment had increased by 2.0% (+0.3% in the euro area and by +0.2% in the EU).

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment increased by 3.0% in Cyprus (+1.5% in the euro area and by +1.3% in the EU) in the fourth quarter of 2022, after +3.1% (+1.8% in the euro area and +1.5% in the EU) in the third quarter of 2022.

According to a first estimation of annual growth for 2022, based on quarterly data, employment increased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 2.0% in the EU.

Hours worked increased by 0.8% in Cyprus (+0.4% in the euro area and + 0.5% in the EU) in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with the previous quarter. Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the hours worked increased by 3.5% (+1.3% in the euro area, 1.1% in the EU).

By member state, in the fourth quarter of 2022, Malta (+1.6%), Poland (+0.9%), Estonia, Cyprus and the Netherlands (all +0.7%) recorded the highest growth of employment in persons compared with the previous quarter.

The highest decline in employment was recorded in Portugal (-0.8%), Lithuania and Latvia (both -0.5%).

Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Eurostat estimates that in the fourth quarter of 2022, 214.6 million people were employed in the EU, of which 165.0 million were in the euro area.

In relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in persons in the euro area was 3.6 million above the level of the fourth quarter of 2019, and 4.7 million above this level in the EU.

The combination of GDP and employment data allows an estimation of labor productivity. The growth analysis compared to the same quarter of the previous year shows that productivity growth fluctuated around 1% for both zones between 2013 and 2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused high volatility in 2020.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, productivity based on persons increased by 0.3% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

Based on hours worked, productivity compared to the same quarter of the previous year decreased by 0.3% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU.