THE IMMEDIATE NEED FOR THOUSANDS OF JOBS - Filenews 26/4 by Angelos Angelodimou
The growth of the economy in recent years, with the consequent development of the reduction of unemployment, has resulted in the need for additional labour. At the same time, the arrival in Cyprus of a significant number of technology companies has brought to the fore the lack of workers with specialized skills.
The formation of the above conditions has changed the landscape in the labour market, with the government seeking to find solutions at various levels, in order to meet the needs of workers on the one hand and to continue the growth of the economy on the other.
The agreement with Egypt
During the past week, the Minister of Labour Marinos Mousiouttas paid a visit to Cairo and met with his Egyptian counterpart. During the meeting of the two Ministers, the Memorandum of Understanding, which was signed in June 2024 between the Republic of Cyprus and Egypt, was discussed, which concerned the employment of Egyptian workers in Cyprus.
This agreement did not have the expected results, as there was no corresponding interest on the part of Cypriot employers. Marinos Mousiouttas, with his visit to Egypt, wanted to put the agreement on a new basis and form the relevant framework, so that it can be used by Cypriot employers.
Mr. Mousiouttas said that it was decided to extend the agreement to cover more sectors. Specifically, the sectors of tourism professions, the construction industry, the IT and recycling sectors were included in the agreement.
Economic growth
After all, with the exception of the current period, where the crisis in the Middle East has created some clouds over the Cypriot economy, the course in recent years has been developmental and is expected to continue at the same pace in the future.
Therefore, the needs for labour in key sectors of the economy are expected to continue. Indicatively, according to the updated data released last Monday by the Statistical Service, the Cypriot economy maintained a strong growth path in 2025, with GDP growing by 3.8% year-on-year and by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Growth was mainly supported by the sectors of information and communication technologies, hotels and restaurants, trade and construction.
In particular, the performance of construction was strong, recording an increase of 9.4%, while the information and communications sector also showed a significant increase with 8% and the trade and tourism sector with 7.2%. Regarding the immediate future, the International Monetary Fund, in its estimates, which are included in the World Economic Outlook, published on Tuesday, April 14, states that growth for Cyprus is estimated at 3% in 2026, from 3.8% in 2025, while the growth rate is expected to stabilize at 3% in the coming years.
Construction
But which are the sectors that have the greatest need for new workforce? The construction sector is undoubtedly one of them.
In a discussion recently organized by OSEOK on the shortage of labor, the president of the Federation, Stelios Gabriel, spoke of one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. Understaffing in construction and the lack of specialized staff now make the risk of reducing the productivity of the sector visible.
At the same time, the lack of labour also negatively affects the implementation of public projects. As a result, the country's growth path is slowing down, he noted.
In this regard, the president of OSEOK had recently stated that serious shortages are recorded in the categories of workers, such as, among others, builders, foremen and train drivers, while difficulties were also observed in finding scientific staff such as Civil Engineers. Our estimates are that about 5,000 more workers will be needed to meet the needs of the sector, he had said.
Hotel industry
Tourism has recorded consecutive records in recent years, both in terms of arrivals and revenues. The opening of new markets, with Poland, Germany and Israel recording large increases in arrivals, combined with the noticeable reduction in unemployment, have created significant needs in the sector in terms of human resources. The crisis in the Middle East is currently causing some concerns, given that the Israeli market, which was the second largest for Cyprus, has been frozen for the moment.
However, in the event that the situation soon returns to normality, then the market is expected to recover and therefore, the needs for human resources will return. It is recalled that the Council of Ministers approved on February 19, 2025 the new "Framework for the Employment of Foreign Workers".
Both PASYXE and STEK had recently stressed on this issue, that the differentiation of the framework for foreign workers has helped, however the needs for employing foreign labour remain, raising the number of workers needed to about 4 thousand.
Technology: The need for many hires remains
The development of the technology sector in recent years has been remarkable. Our country has attracted a large number of companies from abroad, while at the same time the need for specialized personnel arose, which Cyprus did not have.
Indicatively, it is noted that the contribution of the sector to GDP has reached about 14%, even with prospects for even higher. Cyprus is now among the three fastest growing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) markets in the EU since 2011, with an increase in value of more than 200%.
As a result of the above, there is a need to employ a large number of employees with specialized skills. This point appears, among other things, both in the recent survey conducted by the Cyprus Economy and Competitiveness Council (SOAC), as well as in the 15th Annual Survey of PwC Cyprus on CEOs, as well as in the Strategic Plan 2026-2028 of the Human Resource Development Authority of Cyprus (HRDA).
Indicatively, the findings of PwC Cyprus' 15th Annual CEOs Survey, which was attended by 77 business leaders from Cyprus this year, highlight that the lack of human resources with the right skills emerged as a top concern, with 43% considering it a threat for the next year.
In this survey, it is also noted that attracting high-quality specialized talent with knowledge of Artificial Intelligence emerges as one of the most critical challenges for organizations in Cyprus.
RETAIL 2,500 job vacancies
The difficulties in finding human resources (both in specialized positions and in unskilled ones) are the big thorn in the retail market.
As the president of PASYLE, Marios Antoniou, had recently reported, at the moment, based on the data of Statistics, the vacancies in the sector amount to about 2500.
How does this come about? In Limassol, two new shopping malls are being prepared. Although it is not yet clear exactly when "Limassol Mall" and "The Mall of Limassol" will operate, it is nevertheless a given that a large number of staff will be needed to meet their needs.
As Mr. Antoniou characteristically said, about 150-160 stores are expected to operate in each mall. This means that only with the operation of the two shopping centers, the immediate needs of about 1000 employees will arise. At the same time, the movements continue, mainly in the supermarket sector, with the expansion of the existing chains both in central points, but now also in the province, in order to enlarge the market pie.
