The number of persons in employment increased by 8.7% to 2,554,600 in the year to Q2 2022.
The employment rate for persons aged 15-64 in Q2 2022 was 73.5%, up from 68.6% in Q2 2021, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This is the highest employment rate in the current series which began in Q1 1998.
“Employment increased in the year to Q2 2022 across most economic sectors with the largest increase in the Accommodation & Food Service”
The number of absences from work (e.g. temporary layoffs from work, family leave, or holidays) during the reference week in Q2 2022 was 187,200, compared to a peak of 468,500 absences recorded in Q2 2020
In the year to Q2 2022, there was a 9.4% rise in the number of hours worked per week.
The 9.4% rise in the number of hours worked per week equates to an extra 7.1 million hours in the year to Q2 2022, bringing the number of hours worked per week to a record high of 83.0 million.
There were 119,900 persons classified as unemployed in Q2 2022 with an associated Unemployment Rate of 4.5% for those aged 15-74 years.
Rise in employment
“The number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment increased by 205,500 or 8.7% to 2,554,600 persons in the year to Q2 2022,” said CSO statistician Sam Scriven.
“The unadjusted employment rate for persons aged 15-64 years was 73.5%. Employment increased in the year to Q2 2022 across most economic sectors with the largest increase in the Accommodation & Food Service (+39.2% or +47,300) sector. However, employment in this sector at 168,200 remains below the Q2 2019 level of 180,800.
Scriven said the impact on hours worked varied across the different economic sectors.
“The number of hours worked in Q2 2022 per week was higher than a year ago in almost all sectors. The 4.8 million hours worked per week in the Accommodation & Food Services sector, while up from Q2 2020 (1.2 million), remains below the pre-pandemic (Q2 2019) figure of 5.4 million.
“The number of persons aged 15-74 years who were unemployed in Q2 2022 stood at 119,900 with an associated Unemployment Rate of 4.5%.
“In Q2 2022, the total number of persons in the labour force was up 5.6% or 141,300 to 2,674,500 from Q2 2021. The number of persons not in the labour force was 1,424,800 which was down 3.9% or 57,900 from a year earlier.”
Commenting on the importance of sampled individuals taking part in the LFS, Sam Scriven, added: “Randomly selected households receive introductory letters by post giving them an option to ring the interviewer or the interviewer may call to their house to ask them to take part. These surveys give us a picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland in a way, and 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. It means that when CSO figures are quoted you know they’re accurate, because you told us.”
