State’s unemployment rate at 20-year record low

By Cate McCurry, PA

The state’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 per cent last month, marking the lowest rate on record in 20 years.

The jobless rate is down from a revised rate of 4.5 per cent in October and down from 5.2 per cent in November 2021.

Despite the bleak economic forecast, more people are employed in Ireland than ever.

The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the number of unemployed people stood at 117,800 in November, compared with 118,200 in October.

The Monthly Unemployment rate for November 2022 was 4.4%https://t.co/mE5D1854Bl#CSOIreland #Ireland #LabourForceSurvey #LabourForce #Households #Families #IrishFamilies #IrishHouseholds #LabourMarket #LiveRegister #Jobs #Employment #Unemployment pic.twitter.com/GNBZ3qbvFY

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) November 30, 2022

The CSO said there was a decrease of 19,900 in the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed in November when compared with a year earlier.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar welcomed the employment figures, describing them as “very positive”.

“More people are employed in Ireland now than ever. Unemployment at 20 year low,” he tweeted.

“A testament to the hard work and resilience of Irish enterprise that our jobs figures are so strong in challenging times.”

The figures show that the unemployment rate remain at 4.3 per cent for men from October, and down from 5.3 per cent in November last year.

It also remained unchanged at 4.6 per cent for women from October, and down from 5.2 per cent in November 2021.

The figures show that the youth unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 was unchanged at 12.1 per cent.

For those aged 25 to 74, the unemployment rate was down to 3.3 per cent from 3.4 per cent in October.

John Mullane, statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said: “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2022 (for all persons aged 15 to 74 years) was down to 4.4 per cent from a revised rate of 4.5 per cent in October 2022 and down from 5.2 per cent in November 2021.

“The rate of 4.4 per cent in November 2022 was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.8 per cent recorded in November 2019.

“In November 2022 the unemployment rate for men was 4.3 per cent and for women 4.6 per cent.

“The seasonally adjusted number of males unemployed was 61,100 in November 2022, compared with 61,300 in October 2022.

“For November 2022 the seasonally adjusted number of females unemployed was 56,700, compared with 56,900 in October 2022.”

Andrew Webb, chief economist at Grant Thornton Ireland, said: “As we reflect on 2022, it is difficult to comprehend just how different the economic environment is.

“At the start of the year, momentum was building for a strong economic performance.

“As we know, inflation then tightened its grip on the economy and has injected significant pain and challenge.

“Throughout, the labour market has confounded weaker consumer and business sentiment surveys to continue growing.

“Today’s figures provide further encouragement, but we remain mindful of recent churn in the tech sector, which may impact unemployment figures in the months ahead.

“There is no doubt that the months ahead will be bumpy, but the labour market enters this period in a position of strength.”