Number of people in employment rises by 89,900 to hit almost 2.8 million
THE NUMBER OF people in employment in Ireland rose by 89,900 in the 12 months to the end of March.
This 3.3% increase means that as of the end of Q1 of the year, some 2,794,100 people aged 15-89 were in employment.
The increase of 89,900 is composed of increases of 38,300 (+2.7%) for males and 51,600 (+4.1%) for females
.
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke remarked that female participation rates in the labour market have been 'trending upwards and reached a new historic high'.
'My Department will continue to support workers throughout their careers, with initiatives to improve work-life balance and flexible working arrangements which encourages greater participation,' said Burke.
The figures were contained in the
recent Labour Force Survey by the Central Statistics Office.
Elsewhere, the employment rate for people aged 15-64 years was 74.7% in Quarter 1 2025, up from 73.8% a year earlier.
Meanwhile, there were 124,200 unemployed people aged 15-74 years in Q1 2025 using International Labour Organisation (ILO) criteria, with an unemployment rate of 4.3% for this cohort, up from 4.1% a year previous.
The ILO criteria describes an unemployed person as someone who is out of work but available for work within the next two weeks and who has taken steps to find employment in the previous month.
Findings form the Labour Force Survey
CSO
CSO
Meanwhile, the estimated total number of hours worked per week across the first three months of the year increased by one million hours, or 1.2%, on Q1 2024 figures to hit 86.5 million hours.
Advertisement
Employment
Around 593,400, or 21.2%, of those in employment worked part-time.
However, 131,300, or 22.1%, of those in part-time employment were classified as underemployed, meaning they would like to work more hours.
In the 12 months to Q1 2025, the age group with the highest employment rate was in the 35-44 years age group (86.1%), which was up 2.2% from the 83.9% recorded a year previously.
The lowest employment rate by age was in the 15-19 year old cohort at 24.4%.
Meanwhile, over 60% of those in employment stated that they never work at home (1,749,600).
Of the 1,034,900 people who reported that they work from home at least some of the time, 554,500 said they usually (more than half the time) work from home, down from a peak of 846,700 in Q1 2021.
The largest increase in employment by sector was in Education, which rose by 21,500 people (9.3%).
The largest decrease in employment was in Wholesale and Retail Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles, which is down by 8,200 people (2.5%).
Meanwhile, there were 25,900 people in long-term unemployment – described as being unemployed for 12 months or longer – in Q1 2025, 2,900 fewer people than a year previous.
The rate of long-term unemployment was 0.9%, down from 1.0% a year earlier.
The Labour Force Survey is a continuous household survey and Colin Hanley, Statistician in the CSO's Labour Market and Earnings Division said household surveys give a picture of the economic and social situation 'with a level of accuracy that no one else can gain'.
'If you are asked to take part in a CSO survey, please do so,' said Hanley.
'We count on you to take part in our surveys, and you can count on us to provide accurate statistics that reflect our society.'
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- RTÉ News
EU states adopt new controversial medicine regulations
EU member states have adopted a controversial set of new measures governing the regulation of medicines at European level, following two years of deadlock and "unprecedented" lobbying by the pharma sector, particularly in Ireland. The new laws will broadly reform the regulation of medicines and, critically, the issue of when to give generic drug makers access to clinical data, which tends to make certain medicines cheaper. At a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels this morning, the so-called pharma package received overwhelming support, with Malta registering a sole abstention. The package will now go forward for negotiation with the European Parliament. Officials say the current upheaval in the United States, where thousands of staff from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been fired, and where the Trump Administration has taken a hostile attitude to science and research, prompted a large number of member states to try to get the legislation over the line. The pharma package had been deadlocked for over two years. A key sticking point has been the length of the clinical data protection period. Under existing rules, pharmaceutical companies have enjoyed an eight-year period during which rival or generic producers cannot access the clinical data related to authorised products. The provision was intended to encourage manufacturers to invest in the EU by having a guaranteed period of sole clinical data ownership. The European Commission's initial proposal was to reduce the eight years to six, on the basis that producers of generic medicines could access the data sooner, and thus produce cheaper alternatives. Under the original proposal, the patent holder could claw back two years by, for example, ensuring that trials were conducted in many member states. Ireland initially leaned in favour of the six year approach but, following intense lobbying by the pharma industry, moved toward the eight year status quo. Last month, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke acknowledged that Ireland was shifting to the eight year protection period. He told reporters in Brussels: "We really need to have innovation in that sector, because that will give people, ultimately, access to better health care, better medicines, and ensure that we are incentivising innovation and being at the cutting edge of medical developments. "We have to get a balance between access to medicines, which is so important for citizens, but also to keep the pipeline strong so that we are at the cutting edge of innovation, and that companies have certainty as they go about developing new medicines. It is a balancing act." The Polish Presidency of the EU proposed a compromise text which would see the clinical data protection period remain at eight years. There would be a further two years where for one year the pharmaceutical company would get an extra year of market protection and a second year whereby protection would continue if they carry out more trials in member states and if they produced certain kinds of medicines for an "unmet medical need". Officials say the text provides more reassurance for generic producers and will cut timelines for authorised medicines to get to market. There are other measures, including making it easier to have multi-country and multilingual medicine packs, which should reduce production costs and make it easier to move medicines around Europe. It is understood that Ireland regards the compromise as a balance between the need to ensure pharmaceutical companies continue to innovate and invest in European research, while providing access for generic producers and ensuring the production of safe medicines. However, sources acknowledge an "unprecedented" degree of lobbying by the pharma sector, with representations being made to both the Taoiseach's and Tánaiste's offices, as well as to the Department of Health. The legislation has been deeply divisive, with member states falling into opposing camps of those wanting to promote medical research in Europe and those more concerned about cheaper drugs for patients. There are hopes that the final legislation could be adopted by the end of the year.
Irish Independent
30-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Jenny Melia appointed CEO of Enterprise Ireland
Jenny Melia has held a number of senior roles during her career with EI. She is a graduate of UCD with a PhD in Chemistry. Enterprise Minister Peter Burke TD confirmed the appointment. 'I want to congratulate Jenny Melia on her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Ireland. Jenny is a dedicated public servant, who has spent much of her career supporting and fostering the development of the Irish enterprise base through her impressive tenure with Enterprise Ireland, which spans almost three decades,' he said. The chairman of Enterprise Ireland, Michael Carey, said Jenny Melia was appointed after a highly competitive recruitment process. "She has an outstanding track record of providing clear vision and strategic leadership within the organisation, has established deep relationships working collaboratively with key stakeholders from across the ecosystem, and has worked extensively and directly with our client companies,' he said. Employment at companies supported by Enterprise Ireland rose to a record 234,454 earlier this year, and the organisation's new strategy sets out a number of ambitious targets for the Irish enterprise base, including plans to increase exports to €50bn by 2029.
Irish Independent
29-05-2025
- Irish Independent
‘It's about competitiveness' – Government ‘considering' ChatGPT rollout to schools
It comes as almost three in four secondary school students admit using the technology. The move would follow Estonia, which announced a rollout of ChatGPT in September to 20,000 secondary school students and 3,000 teachers, with another 38,000 students and an extra 3,000 teachers joining the scheme in September 2026. Under the EU's AI Act, Irish teachers are already required to undergo AI literacy training. Senior officials from OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT, met this week with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Enterprise Ministers Peter Burke and Niamh Smyth. Speaking to the Irish Independent, chief financial officer Sarah Friar said that the proposed rollout would be an 'enterprise' deployment, controlled by schools and teachers. She said that Ireland has expressed keen interest in deploying the technology. 'They understand that it's about competitiveness,' she said. 'They're receptive.' A recent Studyclix survey of 1,300 Irish secondary students claimed that 71pc now use ChatGPT or alternative AI software, with almost two in three using it for school-related work. A spokesperson for the Teachers' Union of Ireland said that it had received no consultation to date on the issue and that secondary school teachers would need substantial training before any such rollout. 'While we have no position on particular platforms, our general position on AI has been that every effort must be made to optimise the potential benefits and protect against the risks that it presents to the education system,' the spokesperson said. 'A survey of our members earlier this year showed a growing concern at a lack of adequate guidelines and training on AI.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more A spokesperson for the Department of Education declined to comment. Some Irish second-level principals have expressed concern over AI in schoolwork. Last month, the principal of the Cork city-based secondary school Coláiste Éamonn Rís warned of a 'flood' of AI-generated project work. 'You've got to do reform with consultation and the people you need to consult with are the teachers, because they're the people on the ground,' said Aaron Wolfe. According to OpenAI, 28pc of Irish people now use ChatGPT at least once a week, a figure described by the tech giant as 'low' compared to other EU countries. 'We have an incredible deal with Estonia, where they're putting ChatGPT in for secondary school students,' said Ms Friar. 'The UK government's using ChatGPT to create lesson planning.' The company says that such educational deployments are aimed at making ChatGPT 'as fundamental as the internet' to schools. 'ChatGPT has become a go-to tool for students globally to personalise their education and advance their personal development,' the company said this year when announcing its Estonian school rollout. 'Most ChatGPT users – nearly four in five – are under the age of 35 and the majority of conversations are focused on learning and schoolwork. 'By supporting AI literacy programmes, expanding access to AI, and developing policies to make AI training accessible and affordable, we can ensure students will be better equipped as the workforce of the future.'
