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Monthly Unemployment September 2026

The Monthly Unemployment rate for September 2026 was 5.0%, unchanged from August 2026

Online ISSN: 2009-8456

CSO statistical release, 30 September 2026, 11am

Key Findings

In September 2026, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.0%, unchanged from August 2026 and up from 4.9% in September 2025.
Breaking down the results by sex, the monthly unemployment rate for males in September 2026 was 4.9%, up from 4.8% in August 2026, and unchanged from the September 2025 revised rate.
The monthly unemployment rate in September 2026 was 5.2% for females, unchanged from the revised rate in August 2026, and up from 4.8% in September 2025.
The youth unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 years was 12.5%, up from a revised rate of 12.4% in August 2026.
The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 74 years was unchanged at 4.0% from the revised rate in August 2026.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (30 September 2026) published Monthly Unemployment Estimates results for September 2026.

The Monthly Unemployment provides timely flash estimates of those actively seeking employment each month by sex and age. While it is not the official measure of unemployment in Ireland, which is calculated separately in our Labour Force Survey, it provides valuable information on the unemployment rate and volume.

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 to 74 years in September 2026 was 5.0%, unchanged from the August rate and up from 4.9% in September 2025. In September 2026, the unemployment rate for males was 4.9%, and for females was 5.2%.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 149,500 in September 2026, compared with 148,600 in August 2026. There was a rise of 5,800 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in September 2026 when compared with September 2025.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males increased to 76,700 in September 2026, compared with 75,500 in August 2026. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in September 2026 was 72,800, down from 73,100 in August 2026.”

This release is based on administrative data provided to us by the Department of Social Protection, Labour Force Survey forecasted data and Labour Force Survey data once it becomes available. See our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information on survey data and administrative data.

Editor's Note

The methodology for the Monthly Unemployment 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 published today for September 2026 have incorporated the LFS benchmarks up to Q2 2026 for the monthly estimates up to June 2026. The estimates for July, August and September 2026 have been forecasted. Forecasted figures are subject to revision.

Key Figures

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment
	Number of persons unemployed	Unemployment rate (%)
September 2025	143,700	4.9
August 2026	148,600	5.0
September 2026	149,500	5.0
	Number	Percentage points
Change in month	900	0.0
Change in year	5,800	0.1

Open in Excel: Monthly Unemployment September 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	September	61,800	56,500	118,300	4.1	4.1	4.1
	October	66,400	55,100	121,600	4.4	4.1	4.2
	November	70,100	54,200	124,300	4.6	4.0	4.3
	December	72,000	56,800	128,800	4.7	4.2	4.5

2025	January	68,300	60,000	128,300	4.5	4.3	4.4
	February	67,900	61,600	129,500	4.4	4.4	4.4
	March	69,400	62,200	131,600	4.5	4.5	4.5
	April	72,700	61,500	134,200	4.7	4.5	4.6
	May	73,300	61,000	134,300	4.7	4.4	4.6
	June	74,600	61,300	135,900	4.8	4.5	4.6
	July	77,300	69,200	146,500	5.0	5.0	5.0
	August	77,600	68,900	146,500	5.0	5.0	5.0
	September	76,700	67,000	143,700	4.9	4.8	4.9
	October	73,400	63,700	137,100	4.7	4.6	4.7
	November	73,300	62,600	135,800	4.7	4.5	4.6
	December	74,000	65,800	139,800	4.7	4.7	4.7

2026	January	75,400	70,500	145,800	4.8	5.1	5.0
	February	75,800	72,300	148,100	4.9	5.2	5.0
	March	74,500	73,800	148,300	4.8	5.3	5.0
	April	72,700	71,900	144,600	4.7	5.2	4.9
	May	73,200	71,900	145,100	4.7	5.1	4.9
	June	73,900	72,000	146,000	4.7	5.1	4.9
	July	74,900	74,100	149,100	4.8	5.3	5.0
	August	75,500	73,100	148,600	4.8	5.2	5.0
	September	76,700	72,800	149,500	4.9	5.2	5.0

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	September	19,500	18,100	37,600	10.2	10.1	10.1
	October	21,300	18,100	39,400	11.2	10.6	10.9
	November	23,500	18,400	41,900	12.3	10.9	11.7
	December	23,800	19,500	43,300	12.5	11.5	12.0

2025	January	20,400	20,700	41,100	10.8	11.9	11.3
	February	19,800	21,400	41,200	10.5	12.2	11.3
	March	20,400	21,700	42,200	10.7	12.2	11.4
	April	22,100	21,000	43,100	11.5	11.8	11.6
	May	22,000	20,000	42,100	11.5	11.4	11.4
	June	22,900	19,300	42,200	11.9	11.1	11.5
	July	24,400	22,300	46,700	12.7	12.7	12.7
	August	25,100	21,100	46,200	13.1	12.1	12.6
	September	24,200	20,500	44,700	12.6	11.8	12.2
	October	22,100	19,600	41,600	11.5	11.2	11.4
	November	22,300	19,000	41,200	11.6	10.9	11.3
	December	22,700	18,800	41,500	11.9	10.9	11.4

2026	January	23,900	18,900	42,800	12.7	11.1	12.0
	February	24,700	18,900	43,600	13.2	11.2	12.3
	March	24,000	18,900	42,900	12.8	11.1	12.0
	April	22,700	18,600	41,300	12.1	10.7	11.4
	May	23,000	19,000	42,000	12.2	10.8	11.5
	June	23,600	19,000	42,600	12.6	10.8	11.7
	July	24,100	20,800	44,900	12.9	11.9	12.4
	August	25,100	19,500	44,700	13.4	11.2	12.4
	September	25,800	19,800	45,500	13.7	11.3	12.5

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	September	42,300	38,400	80,700	3.2	3.2	3.2
	October	45,100	37,000	82,100	3.4	3.1	3.3
	November	46,600	35,800	82,400	3.5	3.0	3.3
	December	48,200	37,300	85,500	3.6	3.1	3.4

2025	January	48,000	39,300	87,200	3.6	3.2	3.4
	February	48,100	40,200	88,300	3.6	3.3	3.5
	March	48,900	40,500	89,500	3.6	3.3	3.5
	April	50,600	40,500	91,100	3.7	3.4	3.6
	May	51,300	40,900	92,200	3.8	3.4	3.6
	June	51,700	42,000	93,700	3.8	3.5	3.7
	July	52,900	46,900	99,800	3.9	3.9	3.9
	August	52,500	47,800	100,300	3.9	3.9	3.9
	September	52,500	46,400	98,900	3.9	3.8	3.8
	October	51,300	44,200	95,500	3.8	3.6	3.7
	November	51,000	43,600	94,600	3.7	3.6	3.7
	December	51,300	47,000	98,300	3.7	3.9	3.8

2026	January	51,400	51,600	103,000	3.8	4.3	4.0
	February	51,100	53,400	104,500	3.7	4.4	4.1
	March	50,500	54,900	105,400	3.7	4.5	4.1
	April	50,000	53,300	103,400	3.7	4.4	4.0
	May	50,200	52,900	103,100	3.7	4.3	4.0
	June	50,300	53,100	103,400	3.7	4.3	4.0
	July	50,800	53,300	104,200	3.7	4.3	4.0
	August	50,400	53,600	104,000	3.7	4.3	4.0
	September	50,900	53,000	103,900	3.7	4.3	4.0

Monthly Unemployment September 2026