Annual inflation in Cyprus is expected to settle at 1.6% in March 2024, down from 2.1% in February, according to preliminary estimates by Eurostat, the European Union's statistical service. In the eurozone, annual inflation is projected to be at 2.4% in March 2024, down from 2.6% in February.

Examining the main components of inflation in the eurozone, services are expected to have the highest annual rate in March (4.0%, unchanged from February), followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco (2.7%, compared to 3.9% in February), non-energy industrial goods (1.1%, compared to 1.6% in February), and energy (-1.8%, compared to -3.7% in February).

In February 2024, Cyprus experienced a slight decrease in its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, down to 6.4% from 6.6% in January, remaining stable compared to February 2023, as per Eurostat data. 

The unemployment figures showed a reduction of approximately 1,000 persons in February compared to January (32,000 from 33,000) but increased by around 1,000 compared to February 2023 (from 31,000).

Moreover, the female unemployment rate stood at 6.1%, down from 6.3% the previous month, and the male unemployment rate was 6.7%, down from 6.9% the previous month. Cyprus lacks updated data on youth unemployment, as it is among the countries providing data on a quarterly basis.

Meanwhile, the eurozone's unemployment rate was stable at 6.5% in February 2024, down from 6.6% in February 2023. In the EU, the unemployment rate stood at 6.0% in February 2024, unchanged from January 2024 and February 2023. According to Eurostat estimates, there were 13.249 million unemployed in the EU, with 11.102 million in the eurozone as of February 2024.

Compared to January 2024, unemployment decreased by 13,000 in the EU but increased by 17,000 in the eurozone. Year-over-year, unemployment rose by 156,000 in the EU and fell by 30,000 in the eurozone.

In February 2024, the female unemployment rate was 6.4% in the EU, unchanged from January 2024, while the male unemployment rate was 5.7%, down from 5.8% the previous month. In the eurozone, the female unemployment rate was 6.9%, and the male unemployment rate was 6.1%, both unchanged from January 2024.

Furthermore, 2.899 million young people (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of which 2.319 million were in the eurozone. The youth unemployment rate in February 2024 was 14.8% in the EU, down from 14.9% in January 2024, and 14.6% in the eurozone, stable compared to the previous month. Compared to January 2024, youth unemployment decreased by 13,000 in the EU and by 4,000 in the eurozone. Year-over-year, youth unemployment increased by 174,000 in the EU and by 91,000 in the eurozone.

Throughout 2023, overnight stays in short-stay accommodations across Europe increased by 13.8% compared to 2022, rising from 596.5 million to 678.6 million nights. This data, published by Eurostat, was collected from Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group, and TripAdvisor, covering the fourth quarter of 2023 nationally and the third quarter regionally.

Monthly data for overnight stays, booked through online platforms, showed increases for 11 out of 12 months of the year, with the last quarter of 2023 recording increases above 20%.

Specifically, in October 2023, there were 55.3 million overnight stays booked online, marking a 21.9% increase compared to October 2022. November recorded 31.8 million stays (+20.0% compared to November 2022), and December had 45.3 million (+25.8% compared to December 2022).

Increases from 2022 to 2023 were also noted for Cyprus for the first nine months of 2023. The third quarter of 2023 recorded 141,732 overnight stays in short-stay accommodations, with bookings made through online platforms.

The top destinations during the third quarter of 2023 (July - September, covering the main summer holiday period) were in Croatia, Spain, and France.

The most popular regions for short-stay accommodations booked through online platforms during this period were Adriatic Croatia (23.7 million overnight stays), Andalusia in Spain (14.0 million), and the French region of Provence, Alps, and Côte d'Azur (12.2 million).

Among the top 20 regions for the third quarter of 2023, six were in France, five each in Spain and Italy, two in Greece, and one each in Croatia and Portugal.