Cyprus job vacancy rate falls to 2.6% — the sharpest decline in the EU

Cyprus recorded the sharpest year-on-year decline in the job vacancy rate in the European Union. In the second quarter of 2026, the indicator fell to 2.6%, compared with 3.3% in the same period of 2025 — a decline of 0.7 percentage points. This is according to data from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The job vacancy rate shows what share of all jobs employers keep open and are unable to fill. In Cyprus, it has been declining for a year: 3.0% in the third quarter of 2025, 2.8% in both the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, and 2.6% in the second quarter of this year.

At the same time, Cyprus remains above the EU and euro area averages — 2.0% and 2.1%, respectively. But the gap is narrowing quickly: in the second quarter of 2025, Cyprus was 1.1 percentage points ahead of the euro area, while a year later the difference was only 0.5 percentage points.

The largest share of unfilled positions in the euro area remains in construction — 3.0%, followed by administrative and support services at 2.8%. Overall, the services sector leads in terms of the job vacancy rate.

Only three EU countries recorded an annual increase in the indicator: Slovenia (+0.3 percentage points), Greece (+0.2) and Sweden (+0.1). In eight other countries, the job vacancy rate remained unchanged, while it declined in 15 countries — with Cyprus recording the most notable fall.