Cyprus government employment up slightly in December

Total government employment in Cyprus registered a marginal increase in December 2025, reaching 55,301 persons, according to a report from the statistical service (Cystat).

The data showed mixed developments across services and employee categories compared with December 2024.

Cystat said the total number of government employees rose by 53 persons, representing a 0.1 per cent increase year-on-year.

Employment in the civil service and the security forces declined by 0.9 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, while employment in the educational service increased by 1.8 per cent.

Compared with December 2024, the largest increase in total government employment was recorded among permanent employees, up by 0.4 per cent, while the largest decrease was observed among hourly paid workers, down by 0.7 per cent.

Looking at employee categories by service, the educational service posted the strongest percentage growth among staff with contracts of indefinite duration, rising by 23.5 per cent.

By contrast, the sharpest decline was recorded among employees with contracts of definite duration in the security forces, which fell by 74 per cent.

Cystat noted that this substantial decrease is mainly linked to the completion and non-renewal of specific definite-duration contracts in July 2025.

For the period from January to December 2025, average total government employment increased by 0.6 per cent compared with the corresponding period of 2024.