Total employment increased by 9.9% (+230,900) between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022.
Of those in employment in Q3 2022 who identified their Principal Economic Status (PES) as 'student', nearly two-thirds (63.9%) were employed in either Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles sector or the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector.
Full-time employment increased by 167,600 (9.1%) from 1,851,200 in Q3 2019 to 2,018,800 in Q3 2022. Part-time employment increased by 63,300 (13.4%) from 472,200 to 535,500 over the same period.
Females accounted for 40.7% of persons in full-time employment and 67.5% of persons in part-time employment in Q3 2022. This compares with 39.5% and 70.4% respectively for full-time and part-time in Q3 2019.
The number of persons whose PES was fulfilling home duties decreased by 33.6% from 328,100 to 217,800 between Q3 2019 to Q3 2022.
| Persons in employment who said they usually work from home1 | ||||
| Q3 19 | Q3 20 | Q3 21 | Q3 22 | |
| Number of persons ('000) | 169.3 | 637.6 | 738.9 | 574.1 |
| Proportion of total number in employment (%) | 7.3 | 28.3 | 29.9 | 22.5 |
| 1Usually working from home means worked at least half of the days worked in previous four weeks | ||||
In Q3 2022 total employment stood at 2,554,300 representing an increase of 230,900 (9.9%) persons from Q3 2019. Full-time employment increased by 167,600 (9.1%) from 1,851,200 in Q3 2019 to 2,018,800 in Q3 2022. Part-time employment increased by 63,300 (13.4%) from 472,200 to 535,500 over the same period See Figure 1.
Respondents to the LFS are asked about the extent to which they have done any work at home for their job. Within this context, a person classified as mainly, or usually, working from home means the person worked at home on at least half of days worked in the four weeks prior to interview.
The number of persons usually working from home saw a sharp rise since pre COVID-19 pandemic levels, increasing from 169,300 in Q3 2019 to 574,100 (+239.1%) in Q3 2022. This cohort accounts for 22.5% of persons in employment in Q3 2022.
When broken down by region of residence, Dublin had the highest proportion of persons employed who usually work from home, increasing from 6.5% in Q3 2019 to 30.0% in Q3 2022. This was followed by the Mid-East, which increased from 6.7% to 23.5% and the Midlands, which increased from 6.2% to 21.0% in the same reference period. Border counties had the highest proportion of persons never working from home at 79.3% in Q3 2022, followed by the West and Mid-West at 73.6% and 71.7% respectively. See Table 1 and Figure 2.
Average usual hours worked decreased by 0.5 hours from 36.7 hours to 36.2 hours between Q3 2019 to Q3 2022. In Q3 2022 the average hours usually worked by the self-employed reduced by 4.8 hours to 41.1 hours per week. Employees, on average, worked around the same number of hours, 35.6 hours in Q3 2022 and 35.4 hours in Q3 2019.
Full-time employees saw no change in usual hours worked over this period, remaining at 39.4 hours. Those who are full-time self employed saw a reduction of 2.8 hours per week. Part-time employees saw an increase of 0.7 hours per week between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022, while part time self-employed persons saw no change in hours, remaining at 19.6 hours per week. See Table 2.
Permanent employment increased by 211,600 (11.9%) to 1,989,900 between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022, while temporary employment decreased by 17,200 (-8.4%) to 188,200 in the same period.
When classified by occupational group, Mangers, directors, and senior officials experienced the highest percentage change in permanent employees, with a rise of 27.8% (+31,700) from Q3 2019 to Q3 2022. Elementary was the only occupational group which saw decrease in the number of persons in overall employment, down 8.7% (-16,900) in permanent employment. Temporary employment fell in four of the nine occupational groups. See Table 3.
In Q3 2022 there were 124,300 persons in employment who identified their principal economic status as being a student. This is an increase of 45.0% (+38,600) from the 85,700 recorded in Q3 2019. This figure declined to 68,100 in Q3 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When classified by NACE, the two largest sectors of employment for students were Wholesale & Retail Trade and Accommodation & Food Service Activities. The proportion of students employed in Wholesale and retail trade sector rose from 25.4% of students in Q3 2019 to 29.9% in Q3 2022, while the proportion in the Accommodation & Food Service Activities sector rose from 30.9% to 34.0%. Both sectors together represent 63.9% of students in employment. See Table 4 and Figure 4.
The number of females in employment increased by 118,200 (+11.1%) over the three years from Q3 2019 to Q3 2022. Male employment increased by 112,700 (+9.0%) over the same period.
In Q3 2022 females accounted for 40.7% of persons in full-time employment and 67.5% of persons in part-time employment. In total females represented 46.3% of those in employment in Q3 2022, up from 45.8% in Q3 2019. Females in full-time employment increased by 12.2% (+89,000) between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022, while female part-time employment increased by 8.8% (+29,200) over the same period. In comparison, males in full-time employment increased by 7.0% (+78,500), while male part-time employment increased by 24.4% (+34,100) over the same period. See Table 5.
The number of females who stated that School, education, or training was the reason for being in part-time employment increased by 27.3% (+15,700) between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022, while Could not find full-time employment decreased by 26.7% (-9,800). In comparison, the number of males that stated that School, education and training was the reason for being in part-time employment increased by 17.7% (+8,700), while Could not find full-time employment decreased by 34.7% (-11,500) over the same period.
Proportionally, School, education or training increased from being 22.5% of all responses in Q3 2019 to 24.5% in Q3 2022. Could not find full-time employment decreased from 14.8% to 9.1% of all responses over the same period. See Table 6.
Respondents to the LFS are asked about their Principle Economic Status (PES), which is a subjective question regarding their current labour situation. The number of persons who identified their status as principally fulfilling domestic tasks fell by 33.6% from 328,100 to 217,800 between Q3 2019 to Q3 2022. The vast majority of this decrease was among females, where the number fell by 101,000 (-32.7%) from 308,900 to 207,900 over the period. See Table 7.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (19 December 2022) issued results from the Labour Force Detailed Employment Series for Quarter 3 2022.
Commenting on today’s publication, Sam Scriven, Statistician in the Labour Market & Earnings Division, said: "The Labour Force Survey is the official source of data for employment in Ireland. Today’s release is designed to provide supplementary detailed analysis of variables of interest included in the Labour Force Survey.
Persons usually working from home accounted for 22.5% of persons in employment in Q3 2022, compared with 7.3% in Q3 2019.
On average, self-employed people usually worked more hours than employees in Q3 2022, 41.1 hours per week compared with 35.6 hours per week.
The Professional occupational group had the highest number of employees in Q3 2022 at 504,000, equating to 22.9% of all employees. Nine out of every ten employees (90.5%) were in permanent employment in Q3 2022. Females accounted for 46.3% of total persons in employment in Q3 2022, a slight increase from 45.8% in 2019."