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Press Statement

Preasráiteas

25 November 2021

Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2021

Increased employment levels resulted in 4.3 million extra hours worked per week (+6.0%) in Q3 2021 compared to Q3 2020
  • The number of hours worked per week is up 4.3 million hours in the year to Q3 2021 to 77.1 million hours per week, a slight increase from 77.0 million hours per week in pre-pandemic Q3 2019
  • Employment increased by 9.8% to 2,471,200 in the year to Q3 2021 and absences from work were up by 19.5% to 303,200 which resulted in a 6.0% (4.3 million hours) rise in the number of hours worked per week
  • At the end of September 2021, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Employment is estimated to have been 2,369,731 with an associated COVID-19 Adjusted Employment Rate of 69.1%
  • By the end of October 2021, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Employment is currently estimated to have been 2,393,394 with an associated COVID-19 Adjusted Employment Rate of 69.8%
  • There were 149,100 persons classified as unemployed in Q3 2021 with an associated Unemployment Rate of 5.7% for those aged 15-74 years
  • At the end of September 2021, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment is currently estimated to have been 232,866 with an associated COVID-19 Adjusted Unemployment Rate of 8.9%

Go to release: Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2021

See: Infographic

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 November 2021) issued results from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for Q3 2021.

Commenting on the report, Jim Dalton, Statistician, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have a considerable impact on the Irish labour market and that impact was first felt at the end of Quarter 1 (Q1) 2020. As the CSO is obliged to follow standard definitions and methodology when calculating the official estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), it has been decided to compile the Quarter 3 (Q3) 2021 LFS estimates in the usual way and provide separate COVID-19 Adjusted Estimates. This approach preserves the methodology of the LFS while at the same time providing transparency around the current impact of COVID-19 on the labour market within Ireland.

Using the standard International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria, the unadjusted number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment increased by 9.8% or 221,200 to 2,471,200 in the year to Q3 2021. Employment increased across all sectors with the largest rates of increase in the Accommodation & Food Service (+28.7% or +39,400) sector and in the Professional, Scientific & Technical activities (+17.3 or +24,300) sector. The Employment Rate for those aged 15-64 years was 72.2% in Q3 2021.

Absences from work in the reference week (e.g. temporary layoffs from work, family leave and holidays) have had a significant effect on the number of hours worked in the economy. Absences from work in the reference week were up by 19.5% to 303,200 over the year. This, together with an increase of 9.8% in employment, resulted in an increase of 6.0% or 4.3 million in the number of hours worked per week to 77.1 million in Q3 2021. The impact on hours worked varied across the different economic sectors. The number of hours worked per week were higher than a year ago in almost all sectors in Q3 2021 and were approaching Q3 2019 levels in most sectors. The hours worked per week in the Accommodation & Food Services sector, while still below Q3 2019 levels, increased by 1.2 million hours per week (+32.4%) over the year to Q3 2021.

When the effects of COVID-19 are considered, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Employment, or lower bound of the number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment, is estimated to have been 2,369,731 at the end of September 2021 with an associated COVID-19 Adjusted Employment Rate of 69.1% for those aged 15-64 years. By the end of October 2021, these are estimated to have stood at 2,393,394 and 69.8% respectively.

Using the standard ILO criteria, the unadjusted number of persons aged 15-74 years who were unemployed in Q3 2021 stood at 149,100 with an associated Unemployment Rate of 5.7%.

As part of the Monthly Unemployment Estimates release for October 2021, the CSO published COVID-19 Adjusted Unemployment Volumes and Rates for the end of September 2021 which corresponded to 232,866 persons and 8.9% respectively for persons aged 15-74 years. By the end of October 2021, they are estimated to have stood at 205,246 and 7.9% respectively.

In Q3 2021, using the standard methodology, the total number of persons in the labour force was up 7.9% or 191,100 to 2,620,300 from Q3 2020. The number of persons not in the labour force was 1,407,700 and that was down 9.5% or 147,100 from a year earlier.”

Commenting on the importance of sampled individuals taking part in the LFS, Jim Dalton, Statistician, added: “Following public health guidelines regarding COVID-19, households randomly selected will receive introductory letters by post giving them an option to ring the interviewer or the interviewer may call to their house to ask them to take part. These surveys give us a picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland, in a way, and with a level of accuracy, that no one else can gain. If you are asked to take part in a CSO survey, please do so. It means that when CSO figures are quoted you know they’re accurate, because you told us.”

Note to Editors

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of labour market statistics for Ireland including the official measures of employment and unemployment. These official measures are based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) concepts and definitions. The ILO measures are the international standard and all EU Member States are legally obliged to compile and provide this data to Eurostat on a quarterly basis.

A new framework regulation governing the production of the Labour Force Survey across Europe came into force on 01 January 2021. This has led to some minor changes to previously published series. Users should note that some further changes may be necessary by the end of 2021.

The methodology outlined in the Information Note published alongside the Q2 2020 LFS results on 24 August 2020 still applies to the LFS results for Q3 2021. Please see Information Note - Implications of COVID-19 on the Labour Force Survey - Quarter 2 2020 Update

For more information:

See: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/lfs/labourforcesurvey

Contact: Jim Dalton, Labour Market Analysis – 087-678-0316

For further information contact:

Martina O'Callaghan (+353) 21 453 5491

or email labour@cso.ie

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