– The government is examining new measures that would create jobs, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou said on Saturday, as unemployment reached a record-braking 9.1% in Cyprus in November 2011.
Amid the continuing financial crisis and fueled by the sluggish growth, unemployment in Cyprus accelerated to 9.1% according to figures released by Eurostat, marking a 3.1 increase year on year. According to figures by Cyprus’s Statistical Service unemployed persons in the third quarter of 2011 reached 30.800 persons.
”The rise of unemployment in Cyprus is a problem, however it is not one of the highest in the EU. Cyprus continues to be below the EU average,” Stepanou said.
He added however that ”we are not complacent. We have a problem stemming from the financial crisis while various external factors increase this problem.”
The Spokesman recalled that the government has taken measures which enabled the unemployed to find jobs in a different sector, adding that the Minister of Labour has announced measures aiming at strengthening these policies.
”We hope that with the measures to boost growth currently under consideration by the government and which will be announced soon new jobs will be created and that would alleviate the problem,” Stephanou concluded.
After implementing fiscal consolidation measures which aim at reducing Cyprus’ fiscal deficit at 2.4% of GDP in 2012, Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias has said the Ministry is examining a set of measures which would stimulate growth, projected at a mere 0.2% GDP in 2012. Forecasts by the European Commission and the IMF say that the economy will shrink by 1.0% in 2012. (CNA)