Ireland Q2 Employment Tops 2.8 Million as 45-54 Workers and Non-EU Citizens Drive Growth
Updated
Updated · RTÉ News · Aug 20
Ireland Q2 Employment Tops 2.8 Million as 45-54 Workers and Non-EU Citizens Drive Growth
2 articles · Updated · RTÉ News · Aug 20
Summary
Ireland added 21,200 jobs year on year in Q2, lifting employment 0.8% to more than 2.8 million, while the labour force neared 3 million.
Older workers and overseas hires drove the gain: employment among 45-54 year olds rose 3.5% to 686,100, and non-EU labour-force participation climbed 7.3% to 320,000.
Labour-market slack still increased, with unemployment up 7.2% to 151,000 and the jobless rate at 5.1%; female unemployment and weaker participation among 35-44 year olds weighed on the data.
Work patterns shifted further away from home, with 529,800 people usually working remotely—down 4.6%—while those never working from home rose by 43,800 to more than 1.8 million.
The figures point to a labour market expanding through demographics and migration even as participation softens, long-term unemployment reaches 26.6% of all unemployed, and the employment rate slips to 74.3%.