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Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data January 2025

The Monthly Employee Index remained unchanged in the month to January 2025

Online ISSN: 2811-5791

CSO statistical release, 18 March 2025, 11am

A CSO Frontier Series Output

This publication is categorised as a CSO Frontier Series Output. Particular care must be taken when interpreting the statistics in this release as it may use new methods which are under development and/or data sources which may be incomplete, for example new administrative data sources.

Key Findings

The monthly employee index at 116.4 for males and 117.8 for females remained relatively unchanged in the month to January 2025.
The seasonally adjusted employee index rose by 2.1% in the 12 months to January 2025.
Taking age into account, the largest monthly increases were observed in the 15-19 years and 20-24 years age categories (+0.6%). The largest monthly fall was in the 65 years and over age group (-2.6%).
The largest monthly decreases by economic sector were in Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (-3.0%) and Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (-2.4%). The largest monthly rise was in the Services sector (+7.5%).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (18 March 2025) published Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data, January 2025.

Commenting on the release, Aoife McHugh, Statistician in the Labour Market & Earnings Division, said: “Nine NACE sectors saw a monthly increase in the numbers employed in January 2025, while six sectors showed a decrease. The sector that observed the largest monthly rise was in Services (+7.5%). It should be noted that Services is the smallest sector, with 4,800 employees in January 2025. The largest monthly decreases by economic sector were in Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (-3.0%) and Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (-2.4%).

The 15-19 years and 20-24 years age categories saw the largest monthly rise in employees in January 2025 (+0.6%).

On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted index went up by 2.1% from January 2024 to January 2025.”

Data from this release supplements data published in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) quarterly series, which is the official measure of both employment and unemployment for the State. Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data are of relevance to LFS Seasonally Adjusted Estimates and Employment outputs.

Seasonal Adjustment

The Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data release is a very short time series (just over five years of monthly data) and is thus at the lower limit of acceptable length for the seasonal adjustment process. In the short term, care should be taken in interpreting the seasonally adjusted output. Users should be aware that there is increased uncertainty around the seasonally adjusted figures during the COVID-19 period due to the volatility of the data. Non-seasonally adjusted data are available on PxStat. The seasonal models were revised in June 2024. The models are being updated as part of the annual review process in accordance with the CSO and ESS (European Statistical System/Eurostat) guidelines.

Revisions and Rounding

The Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data is published as a 'Frontier' release, therefore the methodology and data are subject to revision. As more data become available, due to later transmissions from employers, the series may change from month to month. As this particularly affects the most recent months, figures should be considered provisional for the two most recent months for the non-seasonally adjusted data. Estimates for 2023 were revised in June 2024 as part of an annual review with the latest data available. All figures for monthly percentage change and annual percentage change are calculated prior to the input data being rounded.

It is anticipated that an update including new weighting will be introduced in forthcoming months. This will result in a break in series.

Headline Table

Number of Employees and Employee Index, Monthly and Annual Changes, Seasonally Adjusted
Period	Number of Employees	Employee Index (Base year: 2019=100)	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
January 2024	2,470,100	114.7	0.4	2.3
December 2024	2,521,900	117.1	0.2	2.5
January 2025	2,523,100	117.1	0.0	2.1

Open in Excel: Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data January 2025 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Employee Index Totals, Seasonally Adjusted

The seasonally adjusted index increased by 2.1% in January 2025 when compared with January 2024. March 2021 was the last month to show an annual decrease in the employee index (-11.1%).

Table 1 Employee Index and Total Number of Employees, Seasonally Adjusted

Employee Index by Sex, Seasonally Adjusted

On an annual basis, the index for both males and females increased by 2.2%. On a monthly basis, no percentage changes were recorded in either the male or female indices to January 2025.

Table 2 Employee Index by Sex, Seasonally Adjusted

Table 2a Number of Employees by Sex, Seasonally Adjusted

Table 2a Number of Employees by Sex, Seasonally Adjusted
		Male			Female			Both Sexes
Year	Month	Number of Employees	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change	Number of Employees	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change	Number of Employees	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
2023	January	1,218,400	0.2	4.4	1,193,700	0.1	5.3	2,414,300	0.2	5.0
	February	1,222,000	0.3	3.9	1,196,900	0.3	4.7	2,421,400	0.3	4.4
	March	1,225,900	0.3	3.8	1,200,500	0.3	4.2	2,426,900	0.2	4.0
	April	1,224,700	-0.1	3.2	1,199,900	0.0	3.6	2,426,000	0.0	3.4
	May	1,223,000	-0.1	2.9	1,198,000	-0.2	3.0	2,421,600	-0.2	3.1
	June	1,225,400	0.2	3.0	1,201,000	0.3	3.5	2,425,100	0.1	3.2
	July	1,226,200	0.1	2.8	1,201,200	0.0	3.2	2,425,900	0.0	2.9
	August	1,228,200	0.2	2.7	1,201,000	0.0	3.4	2,427,300	0.1	3.0
	September	1,233,000	0.4	2.6	1,208,300	0.6	3.1	2,439,900	0.5	2.8
	October	1,236,600	0.3	2.5	1,214,000	0.5	3.1	2,448,700	0.4	2.8
	November	1,237,000	0.0	2.1	1,213,800	0.0	2.2	2,451,200	0.1	2.2
	December	1,240,700	0.3	2.0	1,217,300	0.3	2.1	2,459,700	0.3	2.1

2024	January	1,245,400	0.4	2.2	1,223,400	0.5	2.5	2,470,100	0.4	2.3
	February	1,248,400	0.2	2.2	1,226,200	0.2	2.4	2,475,800	0.2	2.2
	March	1,251,100	0.2	2.1	1,229,700	0.3	2.4	2,480,700	0.2	2.2
	April	1,250,900	0.0	2.1	1,229,700	0.0	2.5	2,480,900	0.0	2.3
	May	1,254,600	0.3	2.6	1,234,600	0.4	3.1	2,489,000	0.3	2.8
	June	1,254,900	0.0	2.4	1,235,200	0.1	2.9	2,489,900	0.0	2.7
	July	1,256,500	0.1	2.5	1,238,300	0.2	3.1	2,494,000	0.2	2.8
	August	1,261,800	0.4	2.7	1,240,900	0.2	3.3	2,503,200	0.4	3.1
	September	1,255,800	-0.5	1.9	1,229,000	-1.0	1.7	2,485,100	-0.7	1.9
	October	1,264,500	0.7	2.3	1,242,700	1.1	2.4	2,507,900	0.9	2.4
	November	1,270,500	0.5	2.7	1,247,100	0.3	2.7	2,517,700	0.4	2.7
	December	1,272,100	0.1	2.5	1,249,400	0.2	2.6	2,521,900	0.2	2.5

2025	January	1,272,300	0.0	2.2	1,249,800	0.0	2.2	2,523,100	0.0	2.1
Source: PMOD Revenue Commissioner's Employee Tax Data

Open in Excel: Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data January 2025 Table 2a (XLS 13KB)

Employee Index by Age Groups, Seasonally Adjusted

With the exception of the 15-19 years age category (-1.7%), all other age groups saw annual increases in the employee index. The age groups with the largest annual rise in employees were 65 years and over (+8.1%), followed by those aged 60-64 years (+5.7%).

Table 3 Employee Index by Age Group, Seasonally Adjusted

Table 3a Number of Employees by Age Group, Seasonally Adjusted

Employee Index by Economic Sector

Information & Communication Activities (-1.6%), Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing (-0.4%), and Accommodation & Food Services Activities (-0.4%) were the only sectors to show an annual decrease in the employee index when compared with January 2024. All other NACE sectors observed increases in the annual index, with the largest changes in Services (+7.4%), Arts, Entertainment, Recreation & Other Services Activities (+5.4%), and Construction (+4.2%).

Table 4 Employee Index classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector, Seasonally Adjusted

Table 4a Number of Employees classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector, Seasonally Adjusted

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Table 3 Employee Index by Age Group, Seasonally Adjusted
	Employee Index (Base Year 2019=100)			Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Age Group	January 2024	December 2024	January 2025	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
15 - 19 years	133.9	130.9	131.7	0.6	-1.7
20 - 24 years	115.6	118.0	118.7	0.6	2.7
25 - 34 years	107.4	108.7	108.8	0.0	1.2
35 - 44 years	107.3	107.7	107.6	-0.1	0.3
45 - 54 years	121.4	125.9	126.2	0.3	3.9
55 - 59 years	118.9	122.9	123.1	0.2	3.5
60 - 64 years	127.2	134.1	134.4	0.2	5.7
65 years and over	143.9	159.6	155.5	-2.6	8.1
15 years and over	114.7	117.1	117.1	0.0	2.1
Source: PMOD Revenue Commissioner's Employee Tax Data

Table 3a Number of Employees by Age Group, Seasonally Adjusted
	Number of Employees			Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Age Group	January 2024	December 2024	January 2025	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
15 - 19 years	120,500	117,900	118,500	0.6	-1.7
20 - 24 years	258,800	264,200	265,900	0.6	2.7
25 - 34 years	561,200	567,900	568,000	0.0	1.2
35 - 44 years	622,500	624,900	624,200	-0.1	0.3
45 - 54 years	527,300	546,600	548,100	0.3	3.9
55 - 59 years	189,200	195,500	195,900	0.2	3.5
60 - 64 years	128,500	135,500	135,800	0.2	5.7
65 years and over	62,400	69,200	67,500	-2.6	8.1
15 years and over	2,470,100	2,521,900	2,523,100	0.0	2.1
Source: PMOD Revenue Commissioner's Employee Tax Data

Table 4 Employee Index classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector, Seasonally Adjusted
	Employee Index (Base Year 2019=100)			Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Sector	January 2024	December 2024	January 2025	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	111.4	113.7	111.0	-2.4	-0.4
Industry (B to E)	112.4	114.6	115.0	0.3	2.3
Construction (F)	122.1	127.6	127.2	-0.2	4.2
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)	110.1	111.0	111.1	0.2	0.9
Transportation and storage (H)	119.2	122.5	122.9	0.4	3.2
Accommodation and food service activities (I)	112.5	112.2	112.0	-0.1	-0.4
Information and communication (J)	119.4	118.8	117.5	-1.1	-1.6
Financial, insurance and real estate activities (K,L)	113.3	115.1	115.2	0.1	1.7
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)	122.1	128.6	124.8	-3.0	2.2
Administrative and support service activities (N)	109.9	110.4	110.1	-0.3	0.2
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (O)	116.5	119.1	119.7	0.5	2.7
Education (P)	115.0	119.1	119.2	0.1	3.7
Human health and social work activities (Q)	120.8	125.5	125.6	0.1	4.0
Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities (R,S)	101.2	104.4	106.6	2.1	5.4
Services (T,U)	116.5	116.4	125.2	7.5	7.4
Not stated ¹	..	..	..	..	..

Aggregated Sectors
Cultural and Creative Industries	104.0	109.5	106.2	-3.0	2.2
Tourism Industries	112.7	110.8	111.0	0.2	-1.5

All Economic Sectors	114.7	117.1	117.1	0.0	2.1
Source: PMOD Revenue Commissioner's Employee Tax Data
¹ .. Not applicable

Table 4a Number of Employees classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector, Seasonally Adjusted
	Number of Employees			Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Sector	January 2024	December 2024	January 2025	Monthly % Change	Annual % Change
Agriculture, forestry and fishing (A)	29,000	29,600	28,900	-2.4	-0.4
Industry (B to E)	266,700	272,000	272,900	0.3	2.3
Construction (F)	139,500	145,800	145,400	-0.2	4.2
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G)	388,900	391,800	392,400	0.2	0.9
Transportation and storage (H)	93,900	96,500	96,900	0.4	3.2
Accommodation and food service activities (I)	207,300	206,700	206,500	-0.1	-0.4
Information and communication (J)	121,000	120,400	119,100	-1.1	-1.6
Financial, insurance and real estate activities (K,L)	128,500	130,500	130,600	0.1	1.7
Professional, scientific and technical activities (M)	161,200	169,800	164,700	-3.0	2.2
Administrative and support service activities (N)	158,700	159,500	159,000	-0.3	0.2
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security (O)	206,800	211,400	212,400	0.5	2.7
Education (P)	171,600	177,800	178,000	0.1	3.7
Human health and social work activities (Q)	291,100	302,400	302,800	0.1	4.0
Arts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities (R,S)	98,100	101,200	103,400	2.1	5.4
Services (T,U)	4,500	4,500	4,800	7.5	7.4
Not stated^1, ²	0	2,300	3,300	..	..

Aggregated Sectors
Cultural and Creative Industries	36,700	38,600	37,400	-3.0	2.2
Tourism Industries	224,600	220,800	221,300	0.2	-1.5

All Economic Sectors	2,470,100	2,521,900	2,523,100	0.0	2.1
¹ .. Not applicable.
² May be subject to revision due to a lag in coding of activity in Revenue's PMOD file

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Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data January 2025