Ireland's unemployment rate falls to record low

The unemployment rate in the Republic of Ireland fell to a record low of 3.8% in May, according to official figures.

It had been 3.9% in April which matched the previous low attained for a sustained period during the Celtic Tiger era in 2000/01.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate peaked in March 2021 at 7.7%.

Ireland's economy has recovered strongly since pandemic restrictions were removed.

Andrew Webb, chief economist at Grant Thornton Ireland, said the strong labour market performance was no surprise "given the signals from business and consumer sentiment indicators that suggest recent economic concerns are beginning to fade".

"A slight note of caution is warranted as vacancy levels are starting to tail off, but overall the labour market performance since the pandemic is a particular economic bright spot," he added.

Northern Ireland's labour market has also performed well since the pandemic with an unemployment rate of 2.5% which is just above the record low.