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Monthly Unemployment October 2026

The Monthly Unemployment rate for October 2026 was 4.8%, up from 4.7% in September 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-8456

CSO statistical release, 04 November 2026, 11am

Key Findings

In October 2026, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8%, up from the revised rate of 4.7% in September 2026 and up from the October 2025 rate of 4.7%.
Breaking down the results by sex, the monthly unemployment rate for males in October 2026 was 4.7%, down from a revised rate of 4.8% in September 2026, and unchanged from October 2025.
The monthly unemployment rate in October 2026 was 4.8% for females, up from a revised rate of 4.7% in September 2026, and up from 4.6% in October 2025.
The youth unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 years was 11.5%, up from a revised rate of 11.4% in September 2026.
The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 74 years was unchanged at 3.8% from the revised rate in September 2026.

Statistician's Comment

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

Commenting on today’s release, Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour Market and Earnings Section, said: “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for all people aged 15 to 74 years in October 2026 was 4.8%, up from 4.7% in both September 2026 and October 2025. In October 2026, the unemployment rate for males was 4.7%, and for females was 4.8%.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 143,600 in October 2026, compared with 142,000 in September 2026. There was a rise of 5,900 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in October 2026 when compared with October 2025.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males decreased to 75,500 in October 2026, compared with 75,900 in September 2026. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in October 2026 was 68,100, up from 66,100 in September 2026.”

The methodology for the Monthly Unemployment involves forecasting the number of persons who are unemployed using the trend in the recipient Live Register series.

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 published today for October 2026 have incorporated the LFS benchmarks up to Q3 2026 for the monthly estimates up to September 2026. The estimates for October 2026 have been forecasted. Forecasted figures are subject to revision.

Key Figures

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment
	Number of persons unemployed	Unemployment rate (%)
October 2025	137,700	4.7
September 2026	142,000	4.7
October 2026	143,600	4.8
	Number	Percentage points
Change in month	1,600	0.1
Change in year	5,900	0.1

Open in Excel: Monthly Unemployment October 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	October	66,500	55,500	122,000	4.4	4.1	4.2
	November	70,200	54,200	124,400	4.6	4.0	4.3
	December	72,300	56,600	128,800	4.7	4.1	4.5

2025	January	68,500	59,600	128,100	4.5	4.3	4.4
	February	68,300	61,400	129,700	4.5	4.4	4.4
	March	69,200	62,000	131,200	4.5	4.5	4.5
	April	72,600	61,100	133,600	4.7	4.4	4.6
	May	73,000	60,500	133,500	4.7	4.4	4.6
	June	74,300	61,100	135,400	4.8	4.4	4.6
	July	77,300	69,600	146,900	5.0	5.0	5.0
	August	77,800	69,600	147,400	5.0	5.0	5.0
	September	76,200	67,900	144,200	4.9	4.9	4.9
	October	73,400	64,300	137,700	4.7	4.6	4.7
	November	73,400	62,600	136,000	4.7	4.5	4.6
	December	74,300	65,300	139,600	4.8	4.7	4.7

2026	January	75,700	69,800	145,500	4.9	5.1	5.0
	February	76,100	71,900	148,000	4.9	5.2	5.0
	March	74,800	73,800	148,600	4.8	5.3	5.1
	April	72,700	72,400	145,100	4.7	5.2	4.9
	May	73,000	71,700	144,700	4.7	5.1	4.9
	June	73,200	70,300	143,500	4.7	5.0	4.8
	July	73,500	69,700	143,200	4.7	5.0	4.8
	August	74,200	66,900	141,100	4.7	4.7	4.7
	September	75,900	66,100	142,000	4.8	4.7	4.7
	October	75,500	68,100	143,600	4.7	4.8	4.8

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	October	21,400	18,100	39,400	11.3	10.5	10.9
	November	23,500	18,400	41,900	12.4	11.0	11.7
	December	23,900	19,500	43,300	12.5	11.5	12.1

2025	January	20,400	20,500	40,900	10.8	11.8	11.3
	February	19,800	21,400	41,100	10.4	12.1	11.2
	March	20,300	21,600	41,900	10.6	12.1	11.3
	April	21,700	20,800	42,600	11.2	11.8	11.5
	May	21,700	19,900	41,600	11.2	11.3	11.3
	June	22,700	19,300	42,100	11.8	11.1	11.5
	July	24,600	22,500	47,100	12.8	12.8	12.8
	August	25,700	21,400	47,100	13.4	12.3	12.9
	September	24,400	20,700	45,100	12.9	11.9	12.4
	October	22,100	19,500	41,600	11.7	11.2	11.4
	November	22,200	19,000	41,300	11.6	11.0	11.3
	December	22,700	18,700	41,300	11.9	10.8	11.4

2026	January	23,800	18,700	42,500	12.6	11.1	11.9
	February	24,700	18,800	43,400	13.1	11.2	12.2
	March	24,100	18,900	43,000	12.8	11.1	12.0
	April	22,900	18,700	41,600	12.2	10.8	11.5
	May	22,900	18,900	41,800	12.1	10.7	11.4
	June	22,600	18,600	41,100	11.8	10.7	11.3
	July	21,900	19,800	41,700	11.3	11.5	11.4
	August	22,400	18,500	41,000	11.3	11.0	11.2
	September	23,100	19,100	42,200	11.5	11.3	11.4
	October	23,400	19,900	43,300	11.5	11.6	11.5

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	October	45,100	37,400	82,600	3.4	3.2	3.3
	November	46,700	35,800	82,600	3.5	3.0	3.3
	December	48,400	37,100	85,500	3.6	3.1	3.4

2025	January	48,100	39,100	87,200	3.6	3.2	3.4
	February	48,500	40,000	88,500	3.6	3.3	3.5
	March	48,900	40,300	89,300	3.6	3.3	3.5
	April	50,800	40,200	91,000	3.7	3.3	3.6
	May	51,300	40,600	91,900	3.8	3.4	3.6
	June	51,600	41,800	93,400	3.8	3.5	3.6
	July	52,700	47,100	99,800	3.9	3.9	3.9
	August	52,100	48,200	100,300	3.9	4.0	3.9
	September	51,800	47,300	99,000	3.8	3.9	3.8
	October	51,300	44,800	96,000	3.8	3.7	3.7
	November	51,200	43,600	94,700	3.7	3.6	3.7
	December	51,600	46,600	98,200	3.8	3.8	3.8

2026	January	51,900	51,100	103,000	3.8	4.2	4.0
	February	51,400	53,100	104,600	3.8	4.4	4.1
	March	50,700	54,900	105,600	3.7	4.5	4.1
	April	49,800	53,700	103,500	3.6	4.4	4.0
	May	50,200	52,800	102,900	3.7	4.3	4.0
	June	50,600	51,700	102,300	3.7	4.2	3.9
	July	51,500	49,900	101,500	3.7	4.0	3.9
	August	51,700	48,400	100,100	3.8	3.9	3.8
	September	52,700	47,000	99,800	3.8	3.8	3.8
	October	52,100	48,200	100,300	3.7	3.9	3.8

Monthly Unemployment October 2026