BRUSSELS -- The number of people employed in Cyprus decreased by 4.8% during the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to the same quarter in 2011, according to data published by Eurostat on Thursday. The same data show a decrease in the number of persons employed in the euro area, by 0.3% and by 0.2% in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2012, when compared to the previous quarter. In Cyprus, the decrease reached 1.3%. When compared with the same quarter of the previous year (2011), the decrease in the euro area is 0.8% and in the EU 0.4%. The biggest drop was recorded in Greece, reaching 6.5%.