Employment problems will persist in Cyprus throughout 2010, a senior government official has disclosed.

Minister of labor and social insurance Sotiroula Charalambous suggested that issues relating to labor market participation will remain a priority for the government this year - with a meeting scheduled for January to review all policies implemented so far to address these problems.

She added that her ministry would continue to monitor both public and private sector job creation very closely and that support will be offered to businesses to reduce the number of redundancies occurring throughout the Mediterranean country's economy, financialmirror.com reported.

Speaking at religious celebrations in Larnaca during Epiphany Day, Ms Charalambous suggested that an employment recovery is ongoing, but warned against complacency.

According to the news provider, she said: "This year will also be difficult for the employment sector."

Last month, the Statistical Service announced that the average number of registered unemployed persons reached 17,505 during 2009, which is 51 per cent more than in 2008.