The package launched by the Government of Cyprus to support workers and businesses in the context of the Coronavirus Pandemic has prevented a sharp increase in unemployment, said Zeta Emilianidou, Minister of Labor, Social Security and Insurance.

“Our strategic goal at this stage is to combat the effects of the pandemic and that is why we support employment to avoid an increase in unemployment,” she said as she presented the Ministry’s budget for 2021 to the Parliamentary Finance Committee.

To date, she said, 450 million euros has been spent on maintaining revenues.
of employees, and an additional 100 million went to support the operating expenses of small and medium-sized businesses. The Minister also reported that the Council of Ministers has agreed on a target of 130-150 million euros for workers affected by local isolation measures introduced in the areas of Limassol and Paphos until 2021.

Emilianidou recalled that the support programs that began with the outbreak of the pandemic in early March, supported the income of more than 190,000 workers and more than 23,000 self-employed, plus the extension of unemployment benefits beyond six months. “All of these schemes have helped us significantly to avoid a sharp rise in unemployment,” the official concluded.

The ministry’s budget for 2021 provides for expenditures of 1.41 billion euros – an increase of 12% compared to 2020. At the same time, taking into account the spending on social security under various schemes of the Social Insurance Fund, the total expenditure of the Ministry increases to 3.1 billion.