The Minister of Labour and Social Insurance, Yannis Panayiotou, announced a target to reduce unemployment below 5%, during the presentation on Friday of the Ministry's annual budget for 2025 at the Finance Parliamentary Committee.

As he informed the MPs, in order to achieve the ambitious targets set, the budget is increased by €84 million compared to the 2024 budget, amounting to €884 million. The Minister explained that the Ministry's revenues are also increasing, due to the increase in the workforce, as a consequence of the growth of the Cypriot economy, and therefore the contributions paid to the Social Insurance Fund.

The creation of full employment conditions for the domestic workforce is an ambitious goal, he said, but it is considered to be achievable. He also said that the target set for 2024 has been exceeded, as the unemployment rate is expected to be below 5.5% by the end of 2024, while the target set was 5.8%.

He explained that unemployment is mainly related to young people under 30 and adults over 55 years of age and therefore, he said, the Ministry is planning to implement programs focusing on these age groups. In addition, he noted that the earlier workers enter the labour market, the stronger the Social Insurance Fund is and the better the pensions are paid.