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.
Persons who have a job but who were temporarily absent from work and did not work at all during the reference week are, for the most part, classified as being in employment in the Labour Force Survey. Reasons for temporary absence may include holidays, sick leave or family leave (e.g., maternity leave). Workers who are on extended temporary absence however, such as on layoff or off-season or extended parental leave, are considered to be in employment only if they expect to return to the job within three months or if they continue to receive some job-related income or benefit in the case of parental leave.
Respondents who are classified as being in employment and who worked during the reference week are asked for the number of hours they worked that week (‘actual hours worked’ variable). The estimate of the average total number of actual hours worked per week in each quarter is calculated by adding together the number of actual hours worked during 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. Estimates for absences from work during the reference week and average hours worked per week continue to be useful indicators of how the labour market is performing across different industrial sectors of the economy.
Table 7.1 above presents the numbers in employment, the numbers absent from work during the reference week and the average hours ‘Actual Hours’ worked per week in Q2 of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The annual changes and annual percentage changes to Q2 2021 and Q2 2022 are also presented.
There were 2,554,600 persons aged 15-89 years in employment in Q2 2022. This represents an increase of 205,500 (+8.7%) over the year from Q2 2021. Of those who were in employment, an estimated 187,200 (7.3%) were absent from work during the reference week (i.e. temporarily absent from work for reasons such as holidays, sick leave or maternity leave). This compares to 220,900 (9.4%) who were absent from work during the reference week in Q2 2021.
Overall employment was up compared to Q2 2021, while the number of absences from work during the reference week decreased. This resulted in the number of employed persons who were at work during the reference week increasing by 11.2% (+239,200) over the year. The estimated total number of hours worked per week in Q2 2022 stood at a record 83.0 million hours, up by 7.1 million hours or 9.4% on Q2 2021.
Table 7.2 below presents the number of persons absent from work during the reference week as a percentage of the numbers employed by economic sector for Q2 of 2020, 2021 and 2022. The overall rate of absence decreased from 21.9% in Q2 2020 to 9.4% in Q2 2021 while employment rose by 9.9% between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. In Q2 2022, the rate of absence was 7.3% and the level of employment also rose by 8.7% from Q2 2021.
The rate of absences from work during the reference week varied across different industrial (NACE) sectors in the year to Q2 2022 – notable changes were seen in:
| Q2 2020 | Q2 2021 | Q2 2022 | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 4.09836065573771 | 2.78035217794254 | 1.98487712665406 |
| Industry | 14.857341684064 | 5.29695024077047 | 6.01058860168172 |
| Construction | 43.9393939393939 | 9.34799685781618 | 4.72205618649133 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 24.3114212265883 | 8.9197224975223 | 5.66625155666252 |
| Transportation and storage | 25.9955752212389 | 12.6494023904382 | 6.40216411181244 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 63.3969118982743 | 21.505376344086 | 6.89655172413793 |
| Information and communication | 5.97907324364723 | 4.53900709219858 | 4.48756822316555 |
| Financial, insurance and real estate activities | 7.26299694189602 | 5.77507598784195 | 8.17417876241405 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 14.3472022955524 | 6.06443461781428 | 7.13857228554289 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 24.1935483870968 | 9.95893223819302 | 4.34372049102927 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 6.54761904761905 | 6.67701863354037 | 7.62578616352201 |
| Education | 23.6753100338219 | 14.7695202257761 | 16.4269141531322 |
| Human health and social work activities | 19.7641172265904 | 10.0098135426889 | 9.99697976442162 |
| Other activities (Cultural & Recreation) | 49.8233215547703 | 19.7341513292434 | 7.36648250460405 |
| All Economic Sectors | 31.1111111111111 | 15.3846153846154 | 4.3956043956044 |
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 on the economy over the last couple of years. Some notable impacts include:
| Q2 2020 | Q2 2021 | Q2 2022 | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 4.5 | 5 | 4.8 |
| Industry | 9.4 | 11.4 | 11.6 |
| Construction | 2.6 | 4.5 | 6.3 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 7.1 | 9.1 | 9.9 |
| Transportation and storage | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.9 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 1.2 | 2.9 | 4.8 |
| Information and communication | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.9 |
| Financial, insurance and real estate activities | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.7 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 2.3 | 3 | 3.3 |
| Public administration and defence; compulsory social security | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Education | 4 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Human health and social work activities | 7.8 | 9.2 | 9.7 |
| Other NACE activities | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3 |
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