Employment rate hits highest level since records began – CSO
Muireann Duffy
The employment rate for people aged 15-64 rose to 74.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year, representing the highest level since the data series began in 1998, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The number of females in this age cohort also jumped to a new high, hitting 70.5 per cent as the unemployment rate for females aged 15-74 dropped to 4.2 per cent, down from 4.5 per cent in the same period of 2022.
Of people aged 15-89, the number employed increased by 3.5 per cent in the year to Q2.
The data found there were 121,200 unemployed people aged 15-74 in the period from April to June, representing 4.4 per cent, which was down on the corresponding figure of 4.5 per cent for Q2 lay year.
In contrast, the youth unemployment rate (aged 15-24) increased to 12.2 per cent the last quarter, up from 11.4 per cent in the same period of 2022.
However, the overall estimate labour force, which is the sum of all people aged 15-89 who were either employed or unemployed, rose 3.4 per cent in the year to now total approximately 2,764,200, while the estimated participation rate also increased from 65.2 per cent ot 65.7 per cent over the same timeframe.
