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This chapter looks at the labour force, unemployment, industrial sector, cross-border workers, and education. The different years of the censuses in Ireland (2022) and Northern Ireland (2021) should be taken into consideration when reviewing this chapter due to different employment practices that may have been in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. See Background Notes for more information.
The labour force is a term used to describe persons at work or unemployed. In Northern Ireland, labour force data relates to economically active people aged 16 years and over. Different questions and methodologies were used to collect data on the labour force in the censuses in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The census in Ireland used a question on principal economic status (PES) and the census in Northern Ireland asked questions according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions. To make meaningful comparisons the census data on unemployment in Ireland was adjusted using unemployment rates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). See Background Notes for further information on the methodological approach. Using this adjusted approach, it can be seen that:
There were almost 2.5 million persons aged 16 and over in the labour force in Ireland in Census 2022 and over 891,000 people in the labour force in Northern Ireland in Census 2021.
The adapted ILO unemployment rate in Ireland in 2022 was 4.6% with both males and females having the same rate of 4.6%.
In Northern Ireland the unemployment rate within the labour force was 4.7% in 2021 (5.4% for males and 4.0% for females).
Map 5.1 below shows the unemployment rate for people aged 16 years and over by area. Areas with higher rates of unemployment have darker shades of red.
The area with highest unemployment rate in Ireland was Louth at 6.5% and in Northern Ireland it was Derry City and Strabane at 6.8%.
The lowest rate of unemployment in Ireland was in Galway county at 3.1% and in Northern Ireland it was in the Mid Ulster district at 3.5%.
Figure 5.2 shows the proportion of the population aged 16 years and over in employment in each industrial sector. See Background Notes for information on the Industry classification.
The industries with the largest numbers of workers in both Ireland and Northern Ireland were Human health and social work activities and Wholesale and retail trade. Human health and social work activities accounted for 16% of workers in Northern Ireland and 12% in Ireland. Wholesale and retail trade also accounted for 16% of workers in Northern Ireland and 12% in Ireland.
The next biggest sectors were Manufacturing (11% of workers in Ireland and 9% in Northern Ireland) and Education (9% of workers in both Ireland and Northern Ireland).
There were relatively larger proportions of people employed in construction and in public administration and defence in Northern Ireland than in Ireland. These two industries were each reported by 8% of workers in Northern Ireland and 6% of workers in Ireland.
In Ireland, sectors with relatively higher proportions of workers were Professional, scientific and technical activities (7% in Ireland, 5% in Northern Ireland) and Information and Communication (5% in Ireland, 3% in Northern Ireland).
Figure 5.3 compares the main mode of transport used to travel to work in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Figure 5.4 shows the distribution of mode of transport for people of school-age and over who attend school or college full-time.
There was a higher proportion of people who worked mainly at or from home in Northern Ireland (19%) than in Ireland (11%)
Children and students travelling to school or college were more likely to commute by bus in Northern Ireland than in Ireland (24% compared with 17%) and less likely to commute by bicycle (1% compared with 3%).
Both censuses ask questions about place of work and the maps in this section show where in Ireland and Northern Ireland cross-border workers travel to and from. There were 7,777 people travelling from Ireland to work in Northern Ireland and there were 10,541 people travelling to work in the opposite direction from Northern Ireland to Ireland.
The top three local government districts that workers from Ireland were travelling to were Derry and Strabane (3,066), Fermanagh and Omagh (1,029) and Newry, Mourne and Down (993).
The top three counties in Ireland where cross-border workers were living were Donegal (4,049), Monaghan (811) and Louth (720).
The top three counties in Ireland where cross-border workers were travelling to were Dublin (2,568), Louth (1,850) and Donegal (1,834).
For workers travelling from Northern Ireland to work in Ireland, the top places of origin were Newry, Mourne and Down (3,159), Derry and Strabane (1,966) and Fermanagh and Omagh (1,883).
The following section shows the age and sex profile of the cross-border worker population.
Figure 5.5 shows that cross-border workers travelling from Ireland to Northern Ireland had an older age profile, with the highest proportion of commuters belonging to the 45 to 54 year age group (30%). Cross-border commuters from Northern Ireland were more likely to be younger with 29% in both the 25 to 34 and 35 to 44 year age groups.
Cross-border workers travelling from Ireland to Northern Ireland were more likely to be male (53%) than female (47%). In the opposite direction there was an even greater difference as 64% of workers travelling from Northern Ireland to Ireland were male and 36% were female.
Figure 5.6 shows the profile of cross-border workers by industrial sector.
Human health and social work activities was the sector with the largest proportion of cross-border workers travelling from Ireland to Northern Ireland (16%), followed by the Wholesale and retail trade (13%) and Manufacturing sectors (11%).
Construction was the industry with the largest proportion of workers travelling from Northern Ireland to Ireland (18%), followed by the Manufacturing and Wholesale and retail trade sectors (both 13%).
The education and qualification systems in Ireland and Northern Ireland differ from each other, and these differences are also reflected in the respective census questions. To allow for comparisons, the qualification levels in each jurisdiction have been aligned into five broad categories, as shown in the table below. Further information can be found in the Background Notes.
| Classification groups | Ireland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Basic qualification | No formal education/ training, Primary education NFQ Levels 1 or 2, Lower Secondary NFQ Level 3 Junior/Inter/Group Certificate | No qualifications/Level 1: 1 to 4 GCSEs, O levels, CSEs (any grades); 1 AS Level; NVQ level 1; or equivalent |
| Intermediate and advanced qualification | Upper Secondary NFQ Levels 4 or 5 Leaving Certificate, Technical or Vocational NFQ Levels 4 or 5 | Level 2: 5 or more GCSEs (A*-C or 9-4), O levels (passes) CSEs (grade 1); 1 A level, 2-3 AS Levels; NVQ level 2, BTEC General, City and Guilds Craft; or equivalent |
| Advanced Certificate/Completed Apprenticeship NFQ Level 6, Higher Certificate NFQ level 6 | Level 3: 2 or more A Levels, 4 or more AS Levels; NVQ Level 3, BTEC National, OND, ONC, City and Guilds Advanced Craft; or equivalent | |
| Higher and professional qualification | Ordinary Bachelor NFQ level 7 up to Doctorate NFQ level 10 | Level 4 and above: Degree (BA, BSc), foundation degree, NVQ Level 4 and above, HND, HNC, professional qualifications (teaching or nursing, for example); or equivalent |
| Other qualification | Other: Other qualifications, equivalent unknown; Apprenticeship | |
| Qualification not stated | Not Stated |
Figure 5.7 below categorises the population aged 16 and over by highest level of qualification achieved.
In Ireland, just under one-quarter (24%) of the population aged 16 and over indicated a basic qualification was their highest level of education. The equivalent proportion was higher in Northern Ireland (30%).
A larger proportion of people in Ireland reported their highest level of education was Intermediate or Advanced (37% in Ireland and 30% in Northern Ireland).
Just under one-third of the population (32%) aged 16 and over in both Ireland and Northern Ireland reported a Higher and Professional qualification was their highest level of education.
Figure 5.8 presents the distribution of the population aged 16 and over, categorised by age group and highest level of qualification attained.
Among the 16 to 39 year age group, 39% in Ireland and 41% in Northern Ireland reported an intermediate or advanced qualification was their highest level of education. A further 37% in both Ireland and Northern Ireland reported having a higher and professional qualification.
In Ireland, the largest proportion of those aged 40 to 64 years reported their highest level of qualification was intermediate or advanced (40%). A further 34% held higher and professional qualifications. The equivalent proportions in Northern Ireland among this age group were 28% and 33%, respectively.
Around half of those aged 65 years and over reported that a basic qualification was their highest level of education (49% in Ireland and 52% in Northern Ireland).
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