Ireland has seen a significant boost in its employment rate, with new data revealing a near 3% increase to over 74% in the second quarter of 2024. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) reported that more than 2.7 million individuals aged 15 to 64 were employed between April and June, marking an increase of 71,000 compared to the same period last year.
Notably, female participation in the workforce reached a record high of 61.4%, the highest since the CSO began tracking these figures in 1998. Overall, the participation rate for both genders rose to 66%, up from 65.7% a year earlier.
The CSO’s data also highlights that over 20% of workers were employed part-time, with nearly 25% of these part-time workers classified as underemployed, indicating a desire for more hours and higher pay.
Among different age groups, those aged 35-44 years had the highest employment rate at 84.7%, although this figure was slightly down by 0.8% from the previous year. Conversely, the employment rate for 15-19 year-olds was the lowest at 27.3%. The most notable increase was seen in the 25-34 age group, which experienced a 1.7% rise to 84.3%.
The average number of hours worked per week between April and June was 87.3 million, up by 1.7 million hours compared to the same period last year.
The overall unemployment rate for the second quarter stood at 4.6%, a slight increase from 4.4% a year prior. During this period, there were 131,200 unemployed individuals aged 15-74. The youth unemployment rate, which covers those aged 15-24, was 12%, a minor decrease from 12.2% in the previous year.
Long-term unemployment, defined as being out of work for 12 months or more, decreased by 5,400 to 26,900 individuals compared to the same period last year.
These figures reflect a robust job market with increasing female participation and a steady decline in long-term unemployment, despite a slight rise in the overall unemployment rate.
