NICOSIA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment in Cyprus fell to levels seen in 2011 for the first time since the near meltdown of the economy that led to the 2013 bailout of the eastern Mediterranean island, statistical service CyStat said on Tuesday.
Eurostat also issued a separate announcement saying that unemployment in Cyprus fell in April to 8.6 percent, down from 9 percent in March and 11.7 percent in April 2017.
Unemployment in Cyprus peaked at 16.3 percent in 2014 after Cyprus was bailed out by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund under a 10-billion-euro (11.73 billion U.S. dollars) three-year economic assistance program.
The government spokesman said despite this reduction, the number of unemployed people is still high and has to be brought further down through continued growth.
Latest official projections said the economy would expand by 3.8 percent in 2018, relative to 3.9 percent growth last year.
