DISY’s claims on unemployment contradict statistical figures and the daily reality experienced by people
Statement of Georgos Loucaides, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 4th May 2016, Nicosia
At a press conference held yesterday, the President of governing DISY party Mr. Averof Neophytou backed his claims on unemployment which contradict both statistical figures and the daily reality experienced by Cypriot working and unemployed people.
He claimed that one in four unemployed people have found work, pointing out that the unemployment rate has decreased from 16% (which was its highest rate during the DISY government) to 12%. Averof’s claim would have some credibility had the Cyprus economy created additional jobs to absorb the unemployed. However, official statistics show that employment as a whole has significantly declined in Cyprus during their administration over three years. The number of employed people has fallen from 389, 000 in 2012 to 361,000 in 2015. The decrease in the unemployment rate is primarily due to the following factors:
- Many of our fellow citizens after some period of time stop registering as unemployed or consider it futile to continue looking for work. It is no coincidence that our country has one of the highest long-term unemployment rates in Europe.
- Many young people after completing their studies stay abroad seeking work there since it is very difficult for a young person to find a job in Cyprus and if he/she finds a job the terms and conditions of employment found are often onerous.
- Many Cypriots have already emigrated abroad. Official statistics cannot record the exact magnitude of emigration, since our fellow citizens who usually leave for abroad don’t declare it to the government/state services. Furthermore, many Community workers have also left Cyprus, a fact which falsely reduces the number of overall unemployment.
In contrast to the claims made by Averof, the Cyprus economy is not creating enough jobs to really and effectively reduce the huge problem of unemployment. There is a big loss of jobs that have partly been replaced by part-time employment.
To really create a lot of good jobs policies that will bring growth need to be promoted through private, but also public investment, through reducing interest rates and restoring those social policies that provide support for the popular and middle strata, but also by reversing the labour relations resembling the middle ages which many working people are currently experiencing.
In the period in-between and as long as the problem of unemployment remains severe, AKEL has proposed a series of measures to help the unemployed until they find work. These measures include, inter alia: Extending the duration of unemployment benefits, reducing or abolishing charges for unemployed and promoting specialized programs for the reactivation of the long-term unemployed.
