UNEMPLOYMENT in Paphos has reached 12 per cent – the highest among the island’s biggest towns, it emerged yesterday.
Neophytos Xenophontos, district secretary of SEK trade union, said Paphos’ jobless rate is 4.0 per cent higher than other towns with youths suffering the most.
“Beyond professionals and the owners of tourist and development businesses, youths are also victims of the economic crisis,” Xenophontos told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
He said the hardest hit are people aged between 24 and 30, as many graduates return to Paphos, but there are no jobs for them.
Many go on the dole “while others move to other towns or even abroad where they face a high cost of living,” Xenophontos said.
His PEO counterpart Anderas Fakontis said Paphos’ main income had always come from tourism and if there are no tourists the town cannot move forward.
Another major problem is that hotels prefer to hire cheaper personnel from other EU countries instead of locals, Fakontis said.
