20th February 2025
The Q4 2024 Labour Force Survey and latest Monthly Unemployment Release show:
- employment continues to grow, with 71,400 jobs created in the year to Q4 2024
- total employment now stands at 2.78 million
- employment growth has been widespread throughout the regions – employment outside of Dublin increased by 48,000 in the year to Q4 2024 (+2.5%)
- full time employment was up 82,900 (+3.9%) year on year in the fourth quarter, while part time employment was down 11,600 (-2.0%) year on year
- in January 2025, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0%, down from the revised rate of 4.5 in December 2024 and from a rate of 4.5% in January 2024
Labour Force Survey (LFS) results published today by the Central Statistics Office show continued growth in Ireland’s labour market, with 71,400 jobs created in the year to Q4 2024.
Employment now stands at 2.78 million, an increase of approximately 2.6% over Q4 2023.
This is reflective of the success of the government’s focus on driving a labour market recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as set out in the Economic Recovery Plan. This commitment to continued employment growth has been renewed in the government’s White Paper on Enterprise, published in December 2022, which sets out the strategic direction for job creation in the years ahead.
Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke, said:
"The Irish labour market has shown outstanding progress in 2024, with key indicators reflecting a robust economy and increasing opportunities for workers across multiple industries. Ireland’s workforce continues to expand, driving the nation’s economic resilience and ensuring a brighter future for job seekers across the regions. It is vital that we continue to build on these successes, ensuring that Ireland remains an attractive and inclusive place for individuals to work, live, and prosper.
"The new Small Business Unit, to be established in the coming weeks, will be one of the tools utilised to ensure the delivery of targeted support for small businesses and employers. These small businesses continue to be the backbone of our local and national economies.”
The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, said:
“2024 was another strong year for the Irish labour market, with the number of people employed reaching 2.78 million in the final quarter. Despite a slight moderation in annual employment growth in the final quarter, the number of people in work increased by 70,000 last year. As a result, employment has now increased by 400,000 compared to the pre-pandemic period, a truly remarkable achievement. Encouragingly, the unemployment rate remains low at 4.2%, broadly consistent with full employment.
“Today’s results point to some modest easing in the tight conditions that have characterised the labour market over the past year. Looking ahead, the economic outlook is increasingly uncertain reflecting the challenging international environment. My Department will publish updated macroeconomic projections as part of its usual spring forecasts that will be published in April.”
The Minister for Public Expenditure, Jack Chambers, said:
“Our incredibly strong levels of employment continue to be a central component of our country’s robust economic performance. Increased growth in job rates - both in our cities and in the regions - underscores the confidence employers and investors have in the Irish economy.
“This is a direct result of the sensible management of our public finances and the economic policies which have been pursued in recent years. The positive figures released today also speak to the level of State investment to support both our small and medium enterprise sector as well as our education system which is producing high calibre, highly skilled workers across a broad range of areas and sectors throughout our economy.
“As an open, trading economy we know we face risks from changes to global trade. The best way to safeguard, protect and further advance our economic success is to enhance our national competitiveness. A key aspect of this is continuing to invest in our people and workers to upskill and diversify our talent pool which will equip us to unlock future economic opportunities and to fully harness the potential of the green and digital transitions.”
Please also find here a link to the CSO release: Labour Force Survey (LFS) - CSO - Central Statistics Office
ENDS
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