Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2026

This chapter explores the interaction between achieved education level and the labour force. It will be seen that generally employment participation increases with level of education and that both males and females have higher participation in the labour force the higher their education level.

Employment rates increase with education level

Main findings for the relationship between educational attainment and employment rates for those aged 25 to 64 in Quarter 2 (Q2) 2026:

• Employment rates increased as level of educational attainment increased, with this relationship evident in both sexes. Disparity between male and female employment rates falls as educational attainment increases.
• Over eight in ten (84%) females aged 25 to 64 years old with a third level qualification were employed, compared with six in ten (63%) of females with a PLC / Secondary and below attainment.
• Males aged 25 to 64 years old with a third level qualification had an employment rate of 92% compared with 80% for those with a PLC / Secondary and below attainment (See Figure 2.1 and Table 2.1).

Unemployment rates decrease with education level

• While unemployment rates are generally low across most levels of education for those aged 25 to 64, higher levels of education are associated with lower unemployment rates.
• Those with a third level qualification had an unemployment rate of 4% compared with a rate of 5% for those with a PLC / Secondary and below (See Figure 2.2 and Table 2.2).

Labour force participation rate

• At all levels of education attainment more males were in the labour force than females though the gap between male and female participation narrows as education attainment level increases.
• For those with primary level or no formal education just 34% of females were in the labour force compared with 57% of males. This gap narrows significantly at postgraduate level with 92% of females and 97% of males in the labour force.
• Nearly nine in ten females (88%) aged 25 to 64 years old with a third level qualification were in the labour force compared with 66% of females with a PLC / Secondary and below attainment.
• Over nine in ten males (95%) with a third level qualification were in the labour force compared with over eight in ten males (84%) with a PLC / Secondary and below attainment (See Table 2.3).

Low number of early school leavers continues

• In Q2 2026, only 4% of those aged 18 to 24 were defined as early school leavers (Early school leavers are people aged 18 to 24 whose highest level of educational attainment is lower secondary or below and are not currently in education), a decrease from 11% in Q2 2009.
• Females aged 18 to 24 years old were slightly less likely than males to be classified as early school leavers (3% versus 5% respectively) (See Figure 2.3 and Table 2.4).

Early school leavers and the labour force

Main findings for labour participation of early school leavers:

• Early school leavers had a lower rate of employment in Q2 2026 compared with all people aged 18 to 24 (35% compared with 62%).
• Over half (59%) of early school leavers aged 18 to 24 were not economically active compared with under a third (31%) of all people aged 18 to 24 (See Table 2.5).