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The censuses of 1926 and 2022 show how the structure of employment in Ireland has shifted over time, moving from a workforce dominated by agriculture and manual labour in 1926 to one centred on non‑manual, managerial and professional roles in 2022.
In 2022, there were 2,320,297 people were at work, compared with 1,307,662 in 1926, reflecting a much larger and more diversified workforce than existed a century earlier.
The gender profile of the workforce changed substantially between the two census years. In 1926, there were 963,768 men (74%) and 343,894 women (26%) at work, while in 2022 the workforce consisted of 1,241,353 men (53%) and 1,078,944 women (47%).
Agriculture dominated the labour market in 1926, employing 672,129 workers, or 51% of the entire workforce. By 2022, this had fallen to 81,470 workers (almost 4%), including 55,037 farmers and 26,433 agricultural workers, marking the most significant structural shift in employment between the two census years.
Non‑manual workers were the largest socio‑economic group in 2022, with 1,001,956 people (43% of all workers). This contrasts with 1926, when clerical and personal service roles together accounted for only about 12% of the workforce, showing how strongly employment has shifted toward service‑based occupations.
Employers and managers made up 314,689 workers in 2022 (14%). In 1926, managerial and administrative roles were far less prominent, with public administration and defence representing just 3% of workers.
Professional roles accounted for 221,263 workers in 2022 (10%), combining higher and lower professional groups. In 1926, professional occupations made up 4% of the workforce, illustrating the long‑term expansion of education, health and technical employment.
Manual, semi‑skilled and unskilled workers totalled 450,387 in 2022, representing 19% of all workers. In 1926, industrial, mining and transport occupations also accounted for 19% of the workforce, though the nature of manual work has changed significantly over time.
Own‑account workers numbered 88,692 in 2022, representing 4% of the workforce.
A further 161,840 workers in 2022 (7%) were classified as 'all others gainfully occupied and unknown'. In 1926, the comparable 'other gainful occupations' group contained 39,981 workers, reflecting a narrower range of job types in the early Free State.
Census 1926 reveals a primary agrarian society, with just over half of the working population - 51% of the 1,307,662 recorded in gainful occupations - working on the land. The data also highlights the emergence of a new service class. According to the official 1926 tables, a person’s occupation was defined by the “operations he performs in earning his living”, while industry referred to the broader sector of the economy.
View the digitised Census of Population 1926, Volume 2 table. See also 1926 Table of Listed Occupations.
Agriculture was the overwhelming driver of the economy, particularly in the West. Leitrim recorded the highest agricultural dependency at 81%, followed closely by Mayo (80%), and Roscommon (80%), while Dublin City recorded just 1%. The state also relied on the next generation with 206,382 sons and daughters assisting farmers and 57,713 other relatives recorded working on family land. There were also 89,963 paid agricultural labourers not living on the farm and 36,446 living in.
Industrial trades and manufacturing accounted for 14% of the national workforce in 1926, with 186,617 people recorded in this category across a broad range of trades including food production, textiles, metalwork, building and printing. The cities recorded the highest concentrations, with Limerick City (33%), Dublin City (32%) and Cork City (31%) leading the way. Among the largest individual trades nationally were tailoring (8,829), smithing (5,637), and baking and pastry making (4,321). The gender divide within trades was pronounced - all 5,637 smiths were men, while of the 9,866 dressmakers recorded nationally, 9,802 were women.
Personal Service: Almost 91,000 people were employed in domestic service. Of these, 87,562 were women and 3,369 were men. Of the 9,866 dressmakers recorded nationally, 9,802 were women.
Professional Occupations: Including teachers, doctors, and clergy, this group represented the growing middle class which employed 55,441 people nationally. County Dublin led the way with 10% in professional roles.
Vital to coastal life, there were 5,753 fishermen recorded nationally. County Waterford (excluding City) had the highest concentration relative to its workforce at 2%.
As the state modernised, the railway network was supported by 9,153 railway workers including 3,180 railway porters and signalmen. Road transport recorded 10,852 horse vehicle drivers alongside 10,291 motor vehicle drivers, reflecting the transition from horse to engine. A further 539 tram drivers and 651 barge and boatmen were recorded in other transport roles.
County Kildare stands out as a unique outlier in the data, with 11% of its workforce, 3,058 people, in Public administration and defence, driven by the military presence at The Curragh.
Census 1926 provides a window into trades that have since largely disappeared:
There were 1,012 coopers: master craftsmen making the wooden barrels essential for the stout trade and butter exports, all of them men.
Before the motor car took over, the state relied on 1,441 saddlers, 10,852 horse vehicle drivers, and 1,399 grooms to keep the country moving.
Chimney sweeps were essential for every home reliant on coal and peat. In a trade of 211, the census recorded just one female chimney sweep.
There were 1,385 milliners, 826 embroiderers, and 336 hand lace workers - a skilled cottage industry that supported many women across the country.
Modern Ireland was beginning to emerge in small but significant numbers: 10,291 motor vehicles drivers and 4,609 motor mechanics - the new saddlers of the machine age - alongside 2,475 electrical fitters and 578 cinema and theatre employees.
Check your own area: Use our digitised table HCA28 to see if your ancestors were part of the 51% farming majority or followed one of these specialised trades.
The occupational landscape recorded in Census 2022 reflects a workforce shaped by technological change, professional specialisation, and the growth of the services sector. Many of the roles that feature prominently today had no equivalent in 1926, while others that were only emerging at that time have since developed into large, specialised fields.
Healthcare occupations in 2022 reflect a large and highly specialised workforce. The census recorded 62,483 nurses and midwives, 17,953 medical practitioners, 2,330 dental practitioners, 5,056 medical and dental technicians, 37,843 nursing auxiliaries and assistants, 1,699 paramedics, 6,033 pharmacists, 2,975 psychologists and 4,069 therapy professionals. This stands in sharp contrast to 1926, when the health sector was far smaller and more limited in scope, comprising 2,051 medical doctors, 491 midwives, 5,341 sick nurses and 536 dentists. The comparison highlights how Ireland’s health workforce has expanded and diversified over the past century, with new clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic roles emerging in response to advances in medicine and the growing complexity of healthcare delivery.
Professional and financial services were well represented, with chartered and certified accountants (43,304), business and financial project management professionals (15,895), and finance and investment analysts and advisers (13,496) recorded in the 2022 census. This represented a dramatic expansion from 1926, when only 382 chartered accountants were recorded.
Technical and engineering roles remained an important part of the workforce in 2022, with 9,112 civil engineers, 7,778 electrical engineers, 6,088 mechanical engineers and 10,195 'engineering professionals n.e.c.' recorded in the census. Skilled technical trades were also substantial, including 17,142 vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians, 12,053 plumbers and heating and ventilating engineers, 23,187 electricians and electrical fitters, and 3,141 electrical and electronics technicians.
In 1926, the scale of these occupations was far smaller. The census recorded 717 workers under 'boiler makers, plumbers and mechanics’ labourers', 1,899 plumbers, and 2,475 electrical fitters. These figures show a clear expansion from small craft‑based mechanical and electrical roles in 1926 to a large, specialised engineering and technical workforce by 2022.
Transport related occupations formed a notable part of the workforce in 2022. Large goods vehicle drivers (23,547), taxi and cab drivers and chauffeurs (13,153), van drivers (12,016), and bus and coach drivers (10,676) accounted for substantial numbers of workers. Managers and directors in transport and distribution (5,025) were also recorded, alongside air transport operatives (1,292), rail transport operatives (1,148), marine and waterways transport operatives (764), and aircraft pilots and flight engineers (1,976).
Compared with the early decades of the State, the 2022 data reflected a transport sector that had expanded and diversified significantly. In 1926, the census recorded the early stages of motorised transport and other emerging forms of modern mobility. By 2022, these early developments had grown into a broad range of road, air, rail, and marine occupations across the transport and communication sector.
In 2022, 2,569 people were recorded as working in fishing‑related elementary occupations compared to 5,753 fishermen in 1926. This represented a substantial decline in the number of people directly engaged in fishing over the century.
The 2022 census recorded significant growth in technology, service and creative occupations.
Digital and technology‑focused roles formed a substantial part of the workforce, including programmers and software development professionals (32,997), IT specialist managers (12,644), and IT user support technicians (9,804). These occupations illustrated the scale of Ireland’s modern technology sector.
Business, sales, and customer‑facing roles accounted for large numbers of workers, such as sales accounts and business development managers (32,753), business sales executives (21,058), and customer service occupations (21,072). These groups reflected the prominence of services and commercial activity in 2022.
Creative and communications‑related occupations appeared across the workforce, including graphic designers (7,956) and marketing associate professionals (9,296), reflecting the development of design, media, and marketing as established fields.
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