NICOSIA – Despite soaring unemployment levels caused by austerity measures attached to a bailout, Cyprus’ job picture is getting better, European Commission Vice President responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness Jyrki Katainen said.

Katainen said the Cypriot government, which hammered the populace as part of a deal with international lenders, has done a good job putting the country on the road to recovery, even if it’s cost many people their homes, jobs and live savings.

“When looking from outside the Cyprus economy and the program how well the country has addressed the challenges the overall picture is positive,” he told reporters, referring to the agreement President Nicos Anastasiades signed with the troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) that put up a 10-billion euro rescue two years ago.

In a nod to the suffering, he said he knew that, “Many issues are locally controversial, many people have faced sacrifices, many people have lost a lot, there is high unemployment, but when looking at how Cyprus reacted when the problems came to the daylight it was a very rapid reaction and the way with which the country addressed the challenges was credible.”