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Employment

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.

Employment

Employment up 55,100 (4.2%) for males and 28,000 (2.4%) for females in the year to Q3 2022

Online ISSN: 2565-5728
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Numbers Employed

Using standard International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria, an estimated 2,554,300 persons were in employment in Q3 2022, up 3.4% (83,000) from 2,471,200 in Q3 2021.

The increase of 83,000 (+3.4%) in employment is composed of increases of 55,100 (+4.2%) for males and 28,000 (+2.4%) for females in the year to Q3 2022. See Table 2.1.

See Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data Sources outputs for supplementary employment analysis.

Figure 2.1 Number of persons aged 15 - 89 years in employment, Quarter 3 2018 to Quarter 3 2022
Table 2.1 Persons aged 15 years and over classified by Sex and ILO Economic Status

Employment Rates

The employment rate for those aged 15-64 was 73.2% in Q3 2022 compared to 72.2% in Q3 2021 and 66.4% in Q3 2020. In Q3 2022, the employment rate for males aged 15-64 years was 78.8%, compared to 67.8% for females.

Looking at the rates by age group, the employment rate was lowest among those aged 15-19 years (29.3%) and highest among those aged 35-44 years (84.0%). The rate of youth employment, those aged 15-24, stood at 47.8%; slightly higher for males (49.4%) than for females (46.1%). See Tables 2.1 and 2.2.

 

Figure 2.2 Employment rate for those aged 15-64 years by sex, Quarter 3 1998 to Quarter 3 2022
Table 2.2 Persons aged 15 years and over classified by key Economic Rates, Sex and Age Group

Economic Sector

The economic sectors that saw the most significant year-on-year growth in Q3 2022 were:

  • Human Health & Social Work Activities sector which increased by 30,100 or 9.8% in the year to Q3 2022
  • Construction, which increased by 24,600 or 16.8%
  • Information & Communication increased by 12,200 or 8.3% in the year to Q3 2022
  • Industry sector increased by 23,300 (7.6%)

 The most significant decreases in the number of persons in employment in the year to Q3 2022 were in:

  • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector, which decreased 12,400 or -11.6%
  • Financial, Insurance and Real Estate sector – down 10,500 or -7.6%
  • Accommodation & Food Service Activities, which saw a decrease of 6,700 or -3.8 % year-on-year.

All economic sectors had greater numbers in employment in Q3 2022 when compared to pre-pandemic levels in Q3 2019 with the exception of the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing sector, which is 4.7% lower; Accommodation and Food Service Activities sector, which remains 3.8% lower than in Q3 2019; and the Other NACE Activities sector, which is 3.0% lower. See Table 2.3.

Figure 2.3 Persons aged 15 - 89 years in employment classified by NACE Rev. 2 Economic Sector, Quarter 3 2021 and Quarter 3 2022
Table 2.3 Persons aged 15-89 years in employment (ILO) classified by sex and NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector

Employment Status

The number of employees increased by 82,100(+3.9%) in the year to Q3 2022 to 2,197,700, while the number of self-employed decreased by 1,800 (-0.5%) to 335,200.

The increase in overall employment of 83,000 in the year to Q3 2022 was made up of 80,800 (+4.2%) persons in full-time employment and 2,200 (+0.4%) persons in part-time employment. See Tables 2.1 and 2.4.

Figure 2.4 Persons aged 15 years and over in employment classified by sex and full-time/part-time status, Quarter 3 2018 to Quarter 3 2022
Table 2.4 Persons aged 15 – 89 years in employment (ILO) classified by sex and employment status

NUTS 3 Regions

Employment increased over the year in all eight NUTS 3 regions with the South-East region seeing the largest percentage increase at 8.0%, compared to the Border region with the lowest increase at 1.6%. See Table 2.5.

Figure 2.5 Persons aged 15 years and over in employment by NUTS 3 Region, Quarter 3 2021 and Quarter 3 2022
Table 2.5 Persons aged 15 years and over classified by NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions and ILO Economic Status