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Monthly Unemployment May 2026

The Monthly Unemployment rate for May 2026 was 4.9%, up from 4.8% in April 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-8456

CSO statistical release, 04 June 2026, 11am

Key Findings

In May 2026, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.9%, up from 4.8% in April 2026. On an annual basis, the unemployment rate increased from 4.6% in May 2025 to 4.9% in May 2026.
Breaking down the results by sex, the monthly unemployment rate for males at 4.5% in May 2026 was unchanged from April 2026, and down from a revised rate of 4.8% in May 2025.
The monthly unemployment rate in May 2026 was 5.3% for females, an increase from 5.2% in April 2026, and up from 4.4% in May 2025.
In terms of age, the monthly unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years (Youth Unemployment Rate) was 9.9%, up from 9.8% in April 2026.
The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 years at 4.2%, was unchanged from the revised April 2026 rate.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (04 June 2026) published Monthly Unemployment Estimates results for May 2026.

Commenting on today’s release, Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said: “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for all people aged 15-74 years in May 2026 was 4.9%, up from 4.8% in April 2026, and up from 4.6% in May 2025. In May 2026, the unemployment rate for males was 4.5%, and for females was 5.3%.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 141,700 in May 2026, compared with 140,700 in April 2026. There was a rise of 7,200 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in May 2026 when compared with May 2025.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males increased to 69,400 in May 2026, compared with 69,000 in April 2026. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in May 2026 was 72,400, up from 71,800 in April 2026.”

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.

From 9 September 2024 beneficiaries of EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) living in Designated Accommodation Centres no longer qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance and thus are no longer enumerated on the Live Register – see Background Notes.

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 May 2026 have incorporated the LFS benchmarks up to Q1 2026 for the monthly estimates up to March 2026. The estimates for April and May 2026 have been forecasted. Forecasted figures are subject to revision.

Key Figures

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment
	Number of persons unemployed	Unemployment rate (%)
May 2025	134,500	4.6
April 2026	140,700	4.8
May 2026	141,700	4.9
	Number	Percentage points
Change in month	1,000	0.1
Change in year	7,200	0.3

Open in Excel: Monthly Unemployment May 2026 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Tables

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

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

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

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Table 1a Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 15-74 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2024	May	66,400	60,000	126,300	4.4	4.4	4.4
	June	65,600	60,200	125,700	4.4	4.4	4.4
	July	64,100	64,000	128,100	4.2	4.7	4.4
	August	59,400	58,400	117,800	3.9	4.3	4.1
	September	61,200	56,600	117,900	4.0	4.2	4.1
	October	66,700	55,300	122,000	4.4	4.1	4.2
	November	69,800	54,700	124,400	4.6	4.0	4.3
	December	72,600	57,000	129,600	4.8	4.2	4.5

2025	January	67,900	60,200	128,100	4.5	4.4	4.4
	February	67,000	61,400	128,500	4.4	4.4	4.4
	March	69,500	62,000	131,500	4.5	4.5	4.5
	April	73,100	61,200	134,300	4.7	4.4	4.6
	May	74,000	60,600	134,500	4.8	4.4	4.6
	June	75,400	60,800	136,200	4.9	4.4	4.6
	July	77,400	69,700	147,100	5.0	5.0	5.0
	August	76,900	68,800	145,800	5.0	4.9	5.0
	September	75,700	67,100	142,800	4.9	4.8	4.9
	October	73,300	64,000	137,300	4.7	4.6	4.7
	November	72,800	63,200	136,000	4.7	4.6	4.6
	December	75,200	66,000	141,200	4.8	4.8	4.8

2026	January	76,200	70,600	146,700	4.9	5.1	5.0
	February	75,100	72,100	147,200	4.8	5.2	5.0
	March	72,800	74,000	146,700	4.7	5.4	5.0
	April	69,000	71,800	140,700	4.5	5.2	4.8
	May	69,400	72,400	141,700	4.5	5.3	4.9

Table 1b Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 15-24 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2024	May	20,700	17,000	37,800	10.9	9.8	10.4
	June	20,300	17,000	37,200	10.6	9.7	10.1
	July	20,100	19,500	39,600	10.4	10.6	10.5
	August	18,700	17,900	36,600	9.8	9.8	9.8
	September	19,500	18,400	37,900	10.2	10.3	10.2
	October	21,800	18,500	40,200	11.4	10.8	11.1
	November	24,100	18,700	42,800	12.6	11.1	11.9
	December	23,700	19,600	43,400	12.4	11.6	12.1

2025	January	19,600	20,600	40,300	10.5	11.9	11.2
	February	19,000	20,900	40,000	10.1	11.9	11.0
	March	20,400	21,500	41,900	10.7	12.1	11.4
	April	22,200	21,000	43,200	11.5	11.8	11.6
	May	22,400	20,200	42,600	11.6	11.4	11.5
	June	23,300	19,100	42,400	12.1	10.9	11.5
	July	23,900	21,900	45,800	12.5	12.5	12.5
	August	25,100	21,100	46,200	13.1	12.1	12.7
	September	24,000	20,900	44,900	12.6	12.1	12.3
	October	22,300	19,900	42,200	11.7	11.5	11.6
	November	23,000	19,400	42,400	11.9	11.1	11.6
	December	23,200	19,100	42,400	12.1	11.0	11.6

2026	January	24,500	19,600	44,100	12.9	11.4	12.2
	February	24,000	18,600	42,600	12.8	11.1	12.0
	March	21,600	17,700	39,200	11.8	10.7	11.3
	April	17,600	16,000	33,500	9.8	9.8	9.8
	May	17,500	16,400	33,800	9.8	10.0	9.9

Table 1c Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 25-74 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2024	May	45,600	42,900	88,600	3.5	3.6	3.5
	June	45,300	43,200	88,500	3.4	3.6	3.5
	July	44,100	44,500	88,500	3.3	3.7	3.5
	August	40,700	40,500	81,200	3.1	3.4	3.2
	September	41,700	38,200	79,900	3.1	3.2	3.2
	October	45,000	36,800	81,800	3.4	3.1	3.3
	November	45,600	35,900	81,600	3.4	3.0	3.2
	December	48,800	37,400	86,200	3.7	3.1	3.4

2025	January	48,300	39,500	87,800	3.6	3.3	3.5
	February	48,000	40,500	88,500	3.6	3.3	3.5
	March	49,100	40,500	89,600	3.6	3.3	3.5
	April	50,900	40,200	91,100	3.8	3.3	3.6
	May	51,500	40,400	91,900	3.8	3.4	3.6
	June	52,100	41,700	93,800	3.8	3.5	3.7
	July	53,500	47,800	101,300	3.9	3.9	3.9
	August	51,800	47,700	99,600	3.8	3.9	3.9
	September	51,700	46,200	97,900	3.8	3.8	3.8
	October	51,000	44,100	95,100	3.7	3.6	3.7
	November	49,800	43,800	93,600	3.6	3.6	3.6
	December	52,000	46,800	98,800	3.8	3.9	3.8

2026	January	51,700	51,000	102,600	3.8	4.2	4.0
	February	51,100	53,500	104,600	3.7	4.4	4.1
	March	51,200	56,300	107,500	3.8	4.6	4.2
	April	51,400	55,800	107,200	3.8	4.6	4.2
	May	51,900	56,000	107,900	3.8	4.7	4.2

Monthly Unemployment May 2026