LFS estimates were updated on 22nd Feb 2024 to incorporate updated population estimates for the period 2016 Q3 to 2023 Q3, based on the results of Census 2022. LFS results are updated in this way following each Census of Population. For further information see Background Notes.
The data in this publication does not reflect these updates. Please refer to the relevant tables on LFS Px-stat for updated LFS estimates.
Users should note that the COVID-19 Adjusted Measures of Employment and Unemployment, which had been published by the CSO in parallel with standard ILO labour market estimates in the LFS since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, have been discontinued with effect from Q1 2022.
The COVID-19 Adjusted Measures of Employment and Unemployment were introduced because it was felt that the impact of COVID-19 government income support schemes was not fully captured in labour market statistics based on ILO criteria. These measures were produced by adjusting ILO measures of employment and unemployment by the numbers of persons in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) at the end of each reference period. With the PUP scheme having finished on the 25 March 2022, COVID-19 Adjusted Measures of Employment and Unemployment in the LFS have been discontinued, since the number of persons in receipt of the PUP at the end of the reference period is zero.
Statistical data on the number of persons in receipt of the PUP and other income support schemes since the beginning of the pandemic are available on the PxStat portal.
The official measures of employment and unemployment published from the LFS are based on a series of questions that objectively classify a person as Employed, Unemployed or Inactive using the ILO concepts and definitions. The Principal Economic Status (PES), on the other hand, is a subjective self-assessment by the respondent of their own economic status and the labour market status assigned to an individual from the LFS using the standard ILO methodology may not agree with their own subjective assessment of their situation. For example, a person laid off with no assurance of returning to work may be perceived by many as unemployed. However, under objective ILO guidelines, unless this person is actively seeking work and available to take up employment within two weeks, (s)he is deemed to be Inactive and outside the Labour Force.
Table 7.1 below presents the percentages of all persons aged 15 years and older who were in each of the ILO and PES categories in Q1 2022. The percentage breakdowns by ILO and PES are also presented separately for those who are estimated to have benefitted from the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) or were in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) during the interview reference week in Q1 2022. Users should note that the PUP scheme finished on 25 March 2022.
For all three groups, the percentage of those who were classified as Employed on the objective (ILO) basis is higher than the number ‘At work’ using the subjective (PES) basis. The share of all persons aged 15 to 89 years who were classified as Employed using the ILO criteria was 62.1% while it was 57.4% for those ‘At work’ using the PES measure.
Of those in receipt of the PUP in the reference week in Q1 2022, 41.5% were classified as Employed on the ILO basis while 36.2% classified themselves as ‘At work’ using the PES. On the other hand, 95.0% of those in receipt of the EWSS were classified as Employed on the ILO basis while 84.1% self-classified themselves as ‘At work’ using the PES.
The percentage of those who were classified as Unemployed on the objective (ILO) basis was lower for all three groups.
Persons in receipt of the PUP in the reference week in Q1 2022 were more likely to self-classify themselves as Unemployed using PES (38.4%) than when objectively classified as Unemployed on the ILO basis (32.7%).
The difference for all persons aged 15 to 89 years was of a lower order; 3.1% were classified as unemployed on the ILO basis and 4.0% self-classified themselves as unemployed using PES.
Virtually all of those benefitting from the EWSS were officially classified as either Employed or Inactive while just 0.3% were objectively classified as Unemployed on the ILO basis.
Persons who are not classified as either Employed or Unemployed are deemed to be outside the Labour Force and are classified as Inactive. The proportion of all persons aged 15 to 89 years who were assessed as being ‘Inactive’ using the PES was higher (38.6%) than when assessed on an ILO basis (34.8%).
Those in receipt of the PUP were more likely to be classified as Inactive using ILO criteria (25.8%) than using PES criteria (25.4%), while those in receipt of EWSS were more likely to classify themselves as Inactive using PES at 15.6% compared to being classified as Inactive using the ILO criteria (4.7%).
In the LFS, persons who were temporarily absent from work and did not work at all during the reference week for reasons such as holidays, sick leave or family leave (e.g., maternity leave) are generally considered to be in employment. Workers who were on extended temporary absence however, such as on layoff or off-season or parental leave, are considered to be in employment only if they expect to return to the job within three months or continue to receive some job-related income or benefit in the case of parental leave.
Those who are classified as Employed on the ILO basis and who worked during the reference week are asked for the number of hours they worked that week (‘Actual Hours’). The estimate of the total number of ‘Actual Hours’ worked per week in each quarter is calculated by adding together the number of ‘Actual Hours’ worked in the reference week for all persons in employment.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact both on the number of persons who were temporarily absent from work and on the actual number of hours worked, as many businesses and places of employment were forced to close during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.
Table 7.2 above presents the numbers in employment, the numbers absent from work during the reference week and the total ‘Actual Hours’ worked per week in Q1 of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The annual changes and annual percentage changes to Q1 2021 and Q1 2022 are also presented.
The numbers in employment on the ILO basis, which stood at 2,505,800 in Q1 2022, was up 275,200 or 12.3% over the year since Q1 2021, while the number of employed persons who were absent from work during the reference week was down 141,400 or 45.7% to 168,100. This resulted in an increase of 12.1 million in the number of hours worked to 80.8 million hours in Q1 2022, having stood at 68.7 million hours per week in Q1 2021.
The number of employed persons who were absent from work during the reference week in Q1 2021 had increased by 101,100 or 48.5% from the same quarter in 2020 and this led to a reduction of 7.6 million or 10.0% in the estimated total number of hours worked per week.
Table 7.3 below presents the number of persons absent from work during the reference week as a percentage of the numbers employed by economic sector for Q1 of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The overall rate of absence increased from 8.9% in Q1 2020 to 13.9% in Q1 2021 while employment fell by 5.0% between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021. In Q1 2022, the rate of absence was 6.7% and the level of employment also rose by 12.3% from Q1 2021.
Different economic sectors have been impacted in different ways over the past two years as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, as many businesses and places of employment were forced to close during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. In terms of the number of persons who were employed but who were absent from work during the reference week, some notable impacts are in:
The Education sector figures for Q1 2021 and Q1 2020 above were corrected on 10 June 2022
| Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q1 2022 | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 4.75746268656716 | 3.19548872180451 | 1.44927536231884 |
| Industry | 6.25874125874126 | 7.48768472906404 | 4.9492385786802 |
| Construction | 9.38137321549966 | 28.1632653061224 | 4.77087256748274 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 7.36910148674855 | 16.7270332565031 | 6.35972176217291 |
| Transportation and storage | 9.27536231884058 | 16.3198247535597 | 7.42049469964664 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 11.3864306784661 | 40.6187624750499 | 8.85608856088561 |
| Information and communication | 6.26959247648903 | 3.26009922041106 | 3.85085574572127 |
| Financial, insurance and real estate activities | 6.27615062761506 | 7.18367346938776 | 6.13451589061345 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 7.095046854083 | 6.07094133697135 | 5.42205791743685 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 11.2802148612355 | 18.2374541003672 | 8.50439882697947 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 6.58008658008658 | 5.95333869670153 | 5.53477935676889 |
| Education | 15.5939298796442 | 15.4404646660213 | 8.90995260663507 |
| Human health and social work activities | 10.1694915254237 | 12.2830894862198 | 11.2546125461255 |
| Other activities (Cultural & Recreation) | 11.9518486672399 | 36.1650485436893 | 5.76395242451967 |
| All Economic Sectors | 8.87866394001363 | 13.8751905316955 | 6.70843642748823 |
The varying levels of both employment and absences from work during the reference week in different sectors has had a considerable impact on the total number of hours worked in different sectors of the economy over the last couple of years. Some notable impacts include:
| Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Q1 2022 | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Industry | 10.5 | 10.9 | 11.3 |
| Construction | 5.3 | 3.4 | 5.8 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 9.4 | 8.3 | 9 |
| Transportation and storage | 3.6 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 4.4 | 1.7 | 4.3 |
| Information and communication | 4.7 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Financial, insurance and real estate activities | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.7 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.5 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 3.2 | 2.2 | 3 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
| Education | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Human health and social work activities | 8.7 | 8.6 | 9.4 |
| Other NACE activities | 3.1 | 1.6 | 3.1 |
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