The number of people employed in the Republic rose to a fresh record high of 2.79 million in the third quarter of 2024, up 3.7 per cent on a year earlier.
The latest Labour Force Survey from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) estimates the employment rate among people aged 15 to 64 at 75.3 per cent in the period, the highest rate recorded since its data series began in 1998.
This rate has also nudged 1.1 per cent percentage points higher from that recorded a year ago.
The total number of people aged 15 to 89 in employment increased by 98,600 in the 12 months to the end of the third quarter.
Some 129,500 people aged 15 to 74 years were unemployed in the third quarter based on International Labour Organisation criteria, with an associated unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 74 years of 4.5 per cent, down from 4.6 per cent in the same quarter of 2023.
The estimated size of the labour force – meaning all those aged 15 to 89 who were either employed or unemployed – stood above 2.9 million, a rise of 3.5 per cent over the year.
There was an estimated participation rate of 66.6 per cent, up from 65.9 per cent a year ago, while the female participation rate of 61.8 per cent was the highest recorded since the series began, the CSO said.
The estimated total number of hours worked per week in the third quarter increased by 2.4 million hours or 2.9 per cent to 85.9 million hours.
An estimated 585,700 or 21 per cent of those in employment worked part-time, while 127,500 or 21.8 per cent of those in part-time employment were classified as underemployed, meaning they would like to work more hours for more pay.
People aged 35 to 44 years had the highest employment rate at 85.6 per cent, while the lowest employment rate by age was observed in the 15 to 19-year-old cohort at 30.8 per cent. The largest annual increase in the employment rate was observed in the 20 to 24-year-old group, which was up 3.1 percentage points to 73.5 per cent.
The largest increase in employment by economic sector, meanwhile, was in the professional, scientific and technical activities sector, which increased by 21,400 people. The largest decrease was found in administrative and support service activities, which declined by 8,300.
The number of employees increased by 102,400 or 4.4 per cent, reaching 2,422,000, while the number of self-employed decreased by 500, or 0.1 per cent, to 344,800.
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