Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus has made youth employment a priority under a new labour market strategy for 2026–2028, Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas said, as joblessness among under-25s remains in double digits.
Strategy framework and submission to European Commission
Replying to questions from Green party MP Charalambos Theopemptou, Mousiouttas said measures aimed at helping young people into work are covered by the National Strategy for Active Employment Measures for 2023–2025 and by a new strategy for 2026–2028. He said a draft of the 2026–2028 strategy was submitted to the European Commission in December 2025.
Labour department measures
Mousiouttas said the labour department’s approach includes counselling, personalised support, individual action plans and participation in subsidised employment schemes.
Latest unemployment data
According to Eurostat, Cyprus’ youth unemployment rate stood at 15 per cent in December 2025, broadly in line with the EU average of 15.1 per cent and slightly above the eurozone’s 14.8 per cent.
Figures from the Cyprus statistical service (Cystat) showed unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rose to 14.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with 9.6 per cent a year earlier. The rate stood at 14.8 per cent for men and 14.7 per cent for women.
Questions on past youth employment action plan
Theopemptou asked what procedure was followed in drawing up the ministry’s National Action Plan for Youth Employment, which ended in 2017, how its implementation was assessed, and whether it had been replaced by another framework.
Recent initiatives, including NEET support
Mousiouttas cited measures promoted in recent years to support youth employment, including an early detection mechanism for NEETs—young people not in employment, education or training—under which those identified are referred to employment counsellors within the first month of registering with the public employment service.
He also referred to a targeted outreach programme for NEETs aged 15 to 29, which ran from January 2024 to August 2025 through mobile public employment service units operating in both urban and rural areas.
What do you think should be prioritised to reduce youth unemployment in Cyprus?
