Employment figure hits record high in Republic of Ireland

workers on production lineImage source, Getty Images

At a glance

  • The employment rate in the Republic of Ireland has reached a record high

  • The rate measures the percentage of people aged 15-64 who are in work

  • Ireland’s economy has recovered strongly since the pandemic

  • Published

The employment rate in the Republic of Ireland reached a record high of 74.2% in the second quarter of this year.

The rate measures the percentage of people aged 15-64 who are in work.

Male employment was 78%, below the record level of 80.6% which was reached during the 'Celtic Tiger' boom in 2007.

Female employment reached a new record of 70.5%.

The female employment rate in Ireland when first recorded in 1998 was just over 50%. , external

In recent months there have been some jobs losses at US technology firms in Dublin, such as Meta, as those firms cut staff across their global operations.

However those losses have been modest in the context of the overall jobs market.

Ireland’s economy has recovered strongly since the pandemic.

Earlier this week, the ESRI think tank estimated that the domestic economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4% in the second quarter of the year.

Despite the strong economic performance the governing coalition is struggling in the polls as high housing costs mean many people feel they are not sharing in the country’s prosperity.