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Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2023

Unemployment

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.

Unemployment

The overall unemployment rate was 4.6% in Q3 2023, which is up from 4.5% in Q3 2022

Online ISSN: 2565-5728

CSO statistical publication, 23 November 2023, 11am

128,600

Persons aged 15-74 were unemployed in Q3 2023

with an associated unemployment rate of 4.6%

119,100 people were unemployed in Q3 2022 at a rate of 4.5%

Source: CSO Ireland, Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2023

Numbers Unemployed and the Unemployment Rate

The number of persons aged 15-74 years who were unemployed increased by 9,500 (+7.9%) to 128,600 in the year to Q3 2023, using standard International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria. The unadjusted unemployment rate for persons aged 15-74 years increased from 4.5% to 4.6% over the year to Q3 2023. See Table 2.1.

4.6%

unemployment rate for females in Q3 2023, down from 4.8% in Q3 2022

4.7% of males were unemployed in Q3 2023, up from 4.2% in Q3 2022

Source: CSO Ireland, Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2023

Unemployment by sex

Unemployment increased by 9,100 (+15.3%) for males to 68,500 in the year to Q3 2023 – this compares with a rise of 400 (+0.7%) to 60,100 for females over the same period. The unemployment rate for males was 4.7% in Q3 2023 up from 4.2% a year earlier while the corresponding rates for females were 4.6% and 4.8% respectively.

Table 3.1 Persons aged 15 - 89 years classified by ILO Economic Status and Age Group

Table 3.1 Persons aged 15-89 years classified by ILO economic status, sex, age group and quarter
'000
		Employed (15-89)			Unemployed (15-74)			In labour force (15-89)
		Q3 21	Q3 22	Q3 23	Q3 21	Q3 22	Q3 23	Q3 21	Q3 22	Q3 23
Males
	15-19	55.4	49.9	52.5	[7.5]	10.1	9.8	62.9	60.0	62.3
	20-24	108.6	114.6	118.0	15.1	10.6	13.0	123.7	125.2	130.9
	Total 15-24 (Youths)	164.0	164.5	170.5	22.7	20.7	22.7	186.6	185.2	193.2
	25-34	254.0	270.4	275.9	18.3	[11.4]	18.5	272.4	281.7	294.4
	35-44	337.7	346.7	341.2	[11.5]	11.7	14.1	349.2	358.5	355.4
	45-54	292.3	309.6	316.2	13.8	[7.7]	[7.0]	306.1	317.3	323.3
	55-59	117.2	121.1	126.4	[6.5]	*	*	123.6	124.6	129.1
	60-64	77.0	92.1	97.3	[4.9]	*	*	81.9	95.8	100.3
	65-74	62.3	55.9	62.9	*	*	*	63.2	56.6	63.2
	75+	12.2	11.4	13.0	:	:	:	12.2	11.4	13.0
	Total males	1,316.7	1,371.8	1,403.3	78.6	59.4	68.5	1,395.3	1,431.2	1,471.8

Females
	15-19	53.1	48.0	52.7	10.7	[9.3]	11.6	63.8	57.3	64.3
	20-24	103.5	99.4	109.7	[10.6]	12.4	12.0	114.1	111.9	121.7
	Total 15-24 (Youths)	156.6	147.5	162.4	21.3	21.7	23.7	177.9	169.2	186.1
	25-34	235.9	244.7	255.1	[13.3]	13.1	[10.0]	249.2	257.9	265.1
	35-44	308.4	313.8	325.8	17.1	[10.1]	14.4	325.5	323.9	340.2
	45-54	258.9	270.8	293.8	9.8	8.6	[6.6]	268.7	279.4	300.4
	55-59	101.6	106.6	107.8	[4.7]	*	*	106.3	109.8	110.7
	60-64	62.6	66.9	69.7	*	*	*	65.8	69.4	71.6
	65-74	28.1	28.9	34.8	*	*	*	29.2	29.4	35.3
	75+	*	[3.3]	[3.1]	:	:	:	*	[3.3]	[3.1]
	Total females	1,154.5	1,182.5	1,252.5	70.5	59.7	60.1	1,225.0	1,242.2	1,312.6

All persons
	15-19	108.4	97.9	105.2	18.3	19.4	21.4	126.7	117.3	126.6
	20-24	212.2	214.0	227.7	25.7	23.1	25.0	237.9	237.1	252.7
	Total 15-24 (Youths)	320.6	312.0	332.9	44.0	42.4	46.4	364.6	354.4	379.3
	25-34	489.9	515.1	531.0	31.6	24.5	28.5	521.6	539.6	559.5
	35-44	646.1	660.5	667.0	28.6	21.8	28.5	674.7	682.4	695.6
	45-54	551.2	580.4	610.0	23.6	16.3	13.7	574.8	596.7	623.7
	55-59	218.8	227.8	234.2	11.1	[6.6]	[5.7]	229.9	234.4	239.9
	60-64	139.6	159.0	167.0	8.1	[6.2]	[4.9]	147.7	165.2	171.9
	65-74	90.4	84.8	97.6	*	*	*	92.4	86.1	98.5
	75+	14.6	14.6	16.1	:	:	:	14.6	14.6	16.1
	Total persons	2,471.2	2,554.3	2,655.9	149.1	119.1	128.6	2,620.3	2,673.4	2,784.4
¹ Estimates for number of persons, where there are less than 30 persons in a cell, are too small to be considered reliable. These estimates are presented with an asterisk (*) in the relevant tables. Where there are 30-49 persons in a cell, estimates are considered to have a wider margin of error and should be treated with caution. These cells are presented with parentheses [].
² : Not applicable

Open in Excel: Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2023 Table 3.1 (XLS 46KB)

Visit Table QLF18 on PxStat

Youth Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 years, known as the Youth Unemployment Rate, stood at 12.2% in Q3 2023 up from 12.0% in Q3 2022. See Table 2.2.

Duration of Unemployment

74.6%* of unemployed persons in Q3 2023 were in short-term unemployment (less than one year). Over the year to Q3 2023, short-term unemployment rose by 10,200 (+12.6%) to 91,100 while there was an increase of 800 (+2.7%) in the numbers of long-term unemployed to 31,000. See Table 3.2.

*excluding ‘Not stated’

The long-term unemployment rate over the year to Q3 2023 was unchanged at 1.1%. Over a quarter (25.4%)* of unemployed persons were in long-term unemployment in Q3 2023 which is down from 27.2%* a year earlier. See Table 3.2

*excluding ‘Not stated’

Table 3.2 Persons aged 15-74 years classified by sex and duration of unemployment (ILO)

Unemployment by Region

On an annual basis, unemployment increased in all NUTS 3 regions with the exception of the Mid-East, which was unchanged and the Border and West regions, which saw a decrease.

The largest decrease occurred in the Border (-2,100). The largest increase in unemployment was in the South-West, which increased by 5,900. See Table 2.5

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Table 3.2 Persons aged 15-74 years classified by sex and duration of unemployment (ILO)
'000
Duration of unemployment (ILO)		Q3 21	Q2 22	Q3 22	Q4 22	Q1 23	Q2 23	Q3 23
Males
	Less than 1 year	47.4	41.2	38.0	33.4	37.3	43.6	46.2
	1 year and over	26.4	19.3	17.8	20.3	19.3	19.8	17.4
	Not stated	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Total males	78.6	63.2	59.4	57.2	62.7	66.4	68.5

Females
	Less than 1 year	47.0	41.6	42.9	36.4	32.1	40.4	44.9
	1 year and over	18.7	12.5	12.4	13.9	12.8	12.1	13.6
	Not stated	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Total females	70.5	56.7	59.7	54.8	48.0	54.8	60.1

All persons
	Less than 1 year	94.4	82.8	80.8	69.8	69.4	84.0	91.0
	1 year and over	45.1	31.8	30.2	34.3	32.1	31.9	31.0
	Not stated	[9.6]	*	[8.1]	[7.9]	[9.1]	*	*
	Total persons	149.1	119.9	119.1	112.0	110.7	121.2	128.6

Long-term unemployment rate % (Persons aged 15-74)		1.7	1.2	1.1	1.3	1.2	1.2	1.1
¹ Estimates for number of persons, where there are less than 30 persons in a cell, are too small to be considered reliable. These estimates are presented with an asterisk (*) in the relevant tables. Where there are 30-49 persons in a cell, estimates are considered to have a wider margin of error and should be treated with caution. These cells are presented with parentheses []. In the case of rates, these limits apply to the denominator used in generating the rate. In the case of annual changes, both the current year and the preceding year are taken into account when deciding whether the estimate should be suppressed or flagged as having a wider margin of error.

Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2023

Unemployment

Unemployment

The overall unemployment rate was 4.6% in Q3 2023, which is up from 4.5% in Q3 2022

Numbers Unemployed and the Unemployment Rate

Unemployment by sex

Youth Unemployment Rate

Duration of Unemployment

Unemployment by Region

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