The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (05 December 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 7 – Employment, Occupations and Commuting. This press release highlights some of the main results for Cork. A full list of county press releases is available.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Dr. Tracy Clegg, Statistician in the Census Division, said: “Profile 7 covers the topics of Employment, Unemployment and Commuting providing statistics, analysis and data tables. The report looks at people at work or unemployed, occupations and industrial sectors as well as the commuting patterns of workers, students and children in school or childcare. New for Census 2022 are the additional topics of commuting to childcare and time leaving workplace, school, college or childcare giving more rounded information on travelling patterns as well as information on working from home.”
Some highlights for Cork
People at Work/Unemployed
Almost 470,500 people living in the county in April 2022 were aged 15 and over and of these more than 264,400 people were at work. This included over 103,000 people at work in Cork City and over 161,000 people working in Cork County. This was an overall increase of 15% (from the more than 230,000 people recorded as working in Census 2016). Nationally there were 2.3 million people at work in April 2022, which was up by 16%.
Nearly 19,500 people were unemployed in Cork in April 2022. This was considerably lower than the 2016 figure of more than 27,200 people (a decrease of 29%). The unemployment rate in Cork City was 8%. Cork County had the joint lowest unemployment rate at 6%. Census 2022 included a question on the duration of unemployment. Cork County had the joint lowest long-term unemployment (12 months or more) rate at 3%. Nationally there were almost 211,000 people unemployed compared with over 297,000 in Census 2016. The unemployment rate was 8% in 2022 compared with 13% in 2016.
There were almost 74,000 retired people in Cork, up 18% since Census 2016. There was a 16% increase in the number of people who were unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability to almost 23,000 people. The number of people looking after their home/family fell by 9% to just over 32,400.
The labour force participation rate in Cork City was 60%, and 61% in Cork County, compared with 61% nationally. Among females in Cork City the rate was 55% while for males it was 66%. In Cork County the labour force participation rate for females was 54% and was 67% for males. Nationally the trend was similar at 56% for female labour force participation and 67% for males.
Of those at work in Cork City, over 76,400 were in full-time employment, while over 14,300 were working part-time. In Cork County, more than 122,000 were in full-time employment while almost 26,000 were working part-time.
Where people worked
The Manufacturing sector accounted for the largest number of workers in the county at almost 42,700. The Wholesale and Retail Trade sector was the next largest, with nearly 32,000 workers followed by Human Health and Social Work Activities with almost 29,400 workers.
Working From Home
A new question was included in Census 2022 asking people whether they ever worked from home and if so, for how many days per week. In Cork City, almost 56,000 people stated they never worked from home while almost 35,700 people worked from home at least some of the time. Of these almost 11,800 people worked from home for five days per week, with over 6,200 doing so for two days and almost 5,500 for three days each week. More than 97,000 people in Cork County never worked from home while just over 50,500 people did so at least part of the time. Of these, almost 12,800 people worked from home for five days a week while just over 8,100 did so for one day and just over 8,000 worked from home three days a week.
Travelling to Work
Over 230,000 people in Cork were travelling to work in April 2022. The majority of these drove to work, with almost 149,500 people driving to work by car in 2022. Overall, almost 9,600 people travelled by bus while just over 1,300 went by train/Dart/Luas. Looking at active travel, almost 20,800 people walked to work, up from 19,600 in 2016, while 3,500 people cycled, up from 3,100 since 2016.
Commuters in Cork were travelling for longer in April 2022, with an average journey time of 26.6 minutes compared with 25.6 minutes in 2016. Nationally, the average journey time increased from 28.2 minutes to 29.1 minutes between 2016 and 2022. Just over 73,000 Cork commuters had a journey time of 15 to 30 minutes, while over 49,500 people were travelling for less than 15 minutes. More than 17,000 people had a journey time of 60 minutes and over.
Travelling to School, College or Childcare
In Cork, nearly 18,300 children aged under 5 travelled to childcare or school. Most of these (almost 15,000) travelled by car, while over 2,300 walked and 186 went by bus.
The majority of the almost 63,500 primary school aged children (5 to 12 years old) travelling to school in the county in April 2022 also travelled by car, with nearly 40,000 doing so. Walking was the second most common means of travel at 12,600 children. More than 5,600 children used a bus while 557 children cycled.
Almost 44,000 secondary students (those aged 13-18 years) were travelling to school, including almost 21,700 who were driven to school in a car. Just over 1,000 drove themselves to school. More than 11,300 students were using a bus. A further 213 students in Cork were using the train. Nearly 7,300 students walked to school while 357 cycled.
There were nearly 24,500 third-level students commuting. Driving by car was the most popular means of travel, at over 7,400 people. Almost 6,000 third-level students walked. More than 4,500 students went to college by bus, while 537 cycled. Another 666 students travelled by train, DART or Luas.