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.
The seasonally adjusted employee index fell by 0.1% in the month to June 2024.
The employee indices for both males and females decreased by 0.1% over the same period.
The seasonally adjusted employee index was up by 2.1% in the 12 months to June 2024.
Taking age into account, the largest decreases in the monthly index to June 2024 were seen in the 20-24 years (-2.1%) and 15-19 years (-1.1%) age groups.
The NACE sector with the largest monthly increase in June 2024 was Administrative & Support Service Activities (+1.1%), followed by Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (+0.9%).
The largest monthly decrease in June 2024 was in Accommodation & Food Service Activities (-1.0%), followed by Education (-0.9%).
In the 12 months to June 2024, the economic sector that observed the largest rise in the number of employees was Human Health & Social Work Activities (+5.8%).
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.
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.
Note: It is anticipated that an update including new weighting will be introduced in forthcoming months. This will result in a break in series.
| 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 |
| June 2023 | 2,426,500 | 112.7 | 0.3 | 3.1 |
| May 2024 | 2,480,000 | 115.1 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| June 2024 | 2,477,500 | 115.0 | -0.1 | 2.1 |
The seasonally adjusted index increased by 2.1% in June 2024 when compared with June 2023. March 2021 was the last month to show an annual decrease (-10.9%) in the employee index.
On an annual basis, the female index increased by 2.5% while the male index rose by 1.9%. On a monthly basis both the female and male indices were down 0.1%.
With the exception of the 15-19 years age category (-2.5%), all age groups saw annual increases in the employee index. The age group with the largest annual rise in employees was 65 years and over (+12.5%), followed by those aged 60-64 years (+5.9%).
Most economic sectors showed an annual increase in the employee index when compared with June 2023. The sectors showing the largest annual increases were Human Health & Social Work Activities (+5.8%), and Public Administration & Defence (+5.6%). The largest decrease was recorded in Information & Communication (-2.6%).
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (16 August 2024) released Monthly Estimates of Payroll Employees using Administrative Data, June 2024.
Commenting on the release, Aoife McHugh, Statistician in the Labour Market & Earnings Division, said:
“Six NACE sectors saw a monthly increase in the numbers employed in June 2024, eight sectors decreased, while one remained unchanged. The sector that observed the largest monthly decrease was Accommodation & Food Service Activities (-1.0%), while the largest monthly rise was seen in Administrative & Support Service Activities, which was up by 1.1%.
The 20-24 years age group saw the largest decrease in employees in the month to June 2024. Four age categories saw monthly decreases in the employee index, while four age groups increased. The 65 years and over age group saw the largest rise (+1.2%) in employees in the month.
On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted index went up by 2.1% over the full year from June 2023 to June 2024.”
Data from this publication supplement those 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.