The drop in the unemployment rate in January to March compared to the first quarter of 2015 was mainly the result of a drop of the number of unemployed from 75,568 to 57,582, Cystat said in its labour force survey on its website on Friday.

In the last quarter of 2015, the number of unemployed was 52,542.

The number employed people in Q1 of the year was 352,017, down from 361,433 in October to December, and 353,457 in January to March last year, Cystat said. In the first quarter of the year, Cyprus’s labour force fell to 409,599, from 413,975, in the last quarter of 2015, and 429,025 in January to March last year.

The unemployment rate was higher among women, 14.3% in the first quarter, compared to 13.9% among men, Cystat said. The percentage of people without a job in the age group of 15 to 24 dropped to 29.8% in the first quarter, from 37% in the respective quarter of 2015.

Source: Cyprus Mail