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Monthly Unemployment January 2023

The Monthly Unemployment rate for January 2023 was 4.4%

Online ISSN: 2009-8456
CSO statistical publication, , 11am

Key Findings

In January 2023 the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was:

  • Down to 4.1% for males from a revised rate of 4.2% in December 2022, and down from a revised rate of 4.8% in January 2022.

  • Unchanged at 4.7% for females from the December 2022 revised rate, and down from a rate of 5.0% in January 2022.

  • Up to 10.4% for persons aged 15-24 years (youth unemployment rate) from a revised rate of 10.2% in December 2022.

  • Down to 3.5% for persons aged 25-74 years from a revised rate of 3.6% in December 2022.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (01 February 2023) issued Monthly Unemployment Estimates results for January 2023.

Commenting on today’s release, John Mullane, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said:

“The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2023 (for all persons aged 15-74 years) was unchanged at 4.4% from the December 2022 revised rate and down from a rate of 4.9% in January 2022. The rate of 4.4% in January 2023 was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.8% recorded in January 2020. In January 2023 the unemployment rate for males was 4.1% and for females was 4.7%.

The seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed was 118,300 in January 2023, compared with 119,100 in December 2022. There was a decrease of 10,300 in the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed in January 2023 when compared with a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted number of males unemployed fell to 58,700 in January 2023, compared with 60,000 in December 2022. In January 2023 the seasonally adjusted number of females unemployed increased to 59,600, compared with 59,200 in December 2022.”

Editor's Note

The methodology for the Monthly Unemployment Estimates involves forecasting the number of persons who are unemployed using the trend in the recipient Live Register series. The Department of Social Protection is providing Working Age Income supports to people arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive. The Live Register series includes recipients of these supports who have met the relevant criteria. This has impacted on the numbers of unemployed, primarily females, in these monthly estimates.

Data in this release are subject to revision based on updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added. In addition, it should be noted that larger revisions can occur when the most recent Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are included in the calculation process.

The Monthly Unemployment Estimates published today for January 2023 have incorporated the LFS benchmarks up to Q4 2022 for the monthly estimates up to December 2022 while the estimates for January 2023 have been forecasted.

Headline Table and Graph

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment
 Number of persons unemployed Unemployment rate (%)
January 2022128,600 4.9
December 2022119,100 4.4
January 2023118,300 4.4
 Number Percentage points
Change in month-8000.0
Change in year-10,300 -0.5
Figure 1: Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment Rate (ILO), January 2020 to January 2023

Tables

1a Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - all persons aged 15-74 years

1b Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 15-24 years

1c Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 25-74 years