Cyprus labour productivity rises in first quarter as EU growth accelerates

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus recorded an annual increase in labour productivity in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data. Across the European Union, productivity growth accelerated in the second quarter.

Cyprus figures

Real labour productivity per person in Cyprus increased by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Productivity measured by hours worked rose by 0.5 per cent over the same period.

The figures placed Cyprus among EU countries recording productivity growth at the start of the year, although the available Cyprus data cover the first quarter while the latest EU-wide figures relate to the second quarter.

How productivity is measured

Labour productivity measures the amount of real economic output produced by each employed person or for each hour worked.

Eurostat calculates the indicator by combining gross domestic product and employment data, indicating the output generated by an economy relative to the labour used to produce it.

EU-wide trend

Across the EU, labour productivity based on the number of people employed increased by 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same quarter of 2025.

Productivity measured by hours worked increased by 0.8 per cent over the same period.

The latest figures marked an acceleration from the first quarter, when EU labour productivity increased by 0.4 per cent year on year on both a per-person and per-hour basis.

Most EU countries recorded increases in labour productivity based on the number of people employed. Slovenia recorded the strongest annual increase, with productivity per person rising by 4.5 per cent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier.