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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 Roscommon. 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, 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 for 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 Roscommon
People at Work/Unemployed
Almost 56,200 people living in the county in April 2022 were aged 15 and over and of these more than 29,600 people were at work. This was an increase of 15% (from the more than 25,800 people recorded as working in Census 2016). Nationally there were 2.3 million people at work in April 2022, which was up by 16%.
Over 2,700 people were unemployed in the county in April 2022. This was considerably lower than the 2016 figure of more than 3,800 people (a decrease of 30%). The unemployment rate was 8% compared with 13% in 2016. Among towns with a population of at least 1,500, Ballaghaderreen had the highest unemployment rate at 24%, as well as the joint second highest long-term unemployment rate (11%). 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 10,700 retired people in Roscommon, up 22% 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 more than 2,900 people. The number of people looking after their home/family fell by 10% to almost 4,100. Ballaghaderreen had the highest rate (among towns with at least 1,500 residents) at 11%.
The labour force participation rate was 58% in Roscommon compared with 61% nationally. Among females the rate was 52% while for males it was 64%. Boyle had the lowest participation rate at 49% (among towns nationally with a population of at least 1,500 people). Nationally the trend was similar at 56% for female labour force participation and 67% for males.
Most people in work in Roscommon were in full-time employment, with nearly 22,300 people in this category, compared with almost 4,500 who were working part-time.
Where people worked
The Wholesale and Retail Trade sector accounted for the largest number of workers in the county at almost 3,800. Human Health and Social Work Activities was the next largest, with almost 3,700 workers followed by Manufacturing with almost 3,400 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. There were more than 29,600 people at work in Roscommon in April 2022. Of these, just over 18,700 never worked from home, while almost 7,900 people worked from home at least some of the time. Of those working from home, over 1,700 people did so for five days per week, with 1,410 doing so for one day and 1,272 for two days each week.
Travelling to Work
There were 26,488 people travelling to work in the county in April 2022. The majority of these drove to work, with 18,552 people driving to work by car in 2022. This meant that 70% of working commuters went to work by car, the joint highest rate in the country. There were also 269 people travelling by bus, and 176 by train. Looking at active travel, 1,223 people walked to work, up from 1,097 in 2016, while 189 people cycled, an increase of 36 people since 2016.
Commuters in the county were travelling for longer in April 2022, with an average journey time of 29.1 minutes compared with 26.4 minutes in 2016. Nationally, the average journey time increased from 28.2 minutes to 29.1 minutes between 2016 and 2022.
The average distance travelled by Roscommon commuters was 24.9km, the second longest in the country. There were 6,916 Roscommon commuters who had a journey time of less than 15 minutes, while 7,707 people had a journey time of 15 to 30 minutes. A further 3,195 people had a journey time of 60 minutes and over.
Travelling to School, College or Childcare
In Roscommon, nearly 2,300 children aged under 5 travelled to childcare or school. Most of these (almost 2,000) travelled by car, while 130 walked and 32 went by bus.
Most of the 7,905 primary school aged children (5 to 12 years old) travelling to school in the county in April 2022 also travelled by car, with 5,440 doing so. Using a bus was the second most common means of travel at 943 children. A further 818 children walked while 77 children cycled.
Of the 5,514 secondary students (those aged 13-18 years) travelling to school, 2,900 were driven to school in a car, while 109 drove themselves to school. There were 1,643 students using a bus, and 35 using the train. A further 542 students walked to school while 22 cycled.
For the 2,122 third-level students commuting, driving was the most popular means of travel, at 761 people. There were 376 students who walked, while 320 used a bus. Another 264 were passengers in a car while 151 students travelled by train, DART or Luas.