Employment in Republic surges to 2.55m

The number of people at work in the State has risen to a new high of 2.55 million, with most sectors of the economy exhibiting strong employment growth over past 12 months, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The lifting of Covid-related restrictions, combined with a strong bounce-back in consumer spending, has pushed employment in the Republic to new heights. The CSO’s latest Labour Force Survey found the number of working-age adults in employment increased year on year by 205,500 or 8.7 per cent, to 2,554,600 in the second quarter. This was almost 200,000 higher than total employment before the pandemic in 2019 and comes on the back of increased participation in the labour force, particularly among women.

The latest figures gave rise to an employment rate — the number of people of working age in the population who are employed — of 73.5 per cent, another all-time high.

The survey indicated that employment rose across most economic sectors, with the largest increase in the accommodation and food service sector, which was up 39 per cent, or 47,300. However, overall employment in hospitality at 168,200 remains below the pre-pandemic level of 180,800. Employment in construction also increased by 40,000 or 31.4 per cent year on year while there were also gains in the information and communication; and the professional, scientific and technical activities sectors.

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The strong employment numbers coincided with a steep decline in unemployment, which fell to 4.5 per cent, the lowest level since 2005, and a level that economists suggest is close to full employment in the Irish economy.

The number of males in the labour force increased by 4.5 per cent (+60,600) to 1.4 million, while the number of females in the labour force increased by 6.9 per cent (+80,600) to 1.25 million. The overall participation rate — a key metric — stood at 65.2 per cent in the second quarter, up from 63.1 per cent a year earlier.

The participation rate is a measure of the economy’s active workforce, in other words those working and those seeking work. The participation rate for males was 71 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 59.8 per cent for females.

Before the pandemic the participation rate for women was 56 per cent. One of the most striking features of the Covid crisis was the increased number of women in the workforce, suggesting that the shift to remote working facilitated greater participation.

“Today’s data show the continued recovery in the labour market, consistent with the income tax data that we have seen over the summer months,” Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said. “Encouragingly, the recovery is being led by strong participation from both youth and female workers, with more opportunities than ever opening to persons wanting to contribute to Ireland’s economy.”

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: “More people are employed in Ireland now than ever before ... That is incredible given where we were a couple of years ago, with the pandemic and Brexit, and the current challenges we are now facing with Putin’s war and inflation.”

The CSO figures also show employees in the State worked for a record 83 million hours a week during the second quarter as the labour force grew, with the number of hours worked higher in almost all sectors. The number of absences from work — temporary lay-offs from work, family leave or holidays — during the quarter declined by 15.3 per cent to 187,200.