The number of unemployed persons registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of April 2017 reached 32,804 persons.

The government estimates its total financing needs for the year at €1.2bn, which it will cover mainly with a €0.5bn international bond issue, the Finance Ministry said.

More than 40 events, discussion panels, press briefings and special meetings will make up the programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's AGM in Nicosia from May 9–11, 2017.

At the height of the eurozone sovereign debt crunch – triggered by the US subprime mortgage crisis – Cyprus became the fifth EU member state to request a financial assistance package from the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – collectively known as the Troika.

Cyprus has been hailed an ‘economic miracle’ once before during its long history.

The government generated a fiscal surplus of €200.9m in the first quarter of 2017 on a cash basis compared to a surplus of €146.3m in the respective quarter of 2016 on increased revenue, the statistical service said.

The University of Cyprus said it expects the economy to expand 3.1% this year, boosted by an unusually strong economic performance in the first quarter, and consumer prices to rise 1.7%.

The Finance Ministry revised its 2017 forecast for growth marginally upwards to 2.9% and that of fiscal balance considerably upwards to a fiscal surplus of 0.2% of the economy, the Finance Ministry said.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Cyprus further decreased to 12.5% in March 2017 compared to 12.8% in February according to Eurostat, the Statistical Service of the EU.

The General Government’s financial assets stood at €15.42 billion at the end of December 2016, while its financial liabilities were at €28.39 billion, according to figures released recently by the Central Bank of Cyprus.