Unemployment rate in Ireland

Central Statistics Office · Monthly · Importance

IMF forecast (WEO): 2026: 4.8% 2027: 4.8% 2028: 4.8% 2029: 4.9% 2030: 4.9% 2031: 5.0%

5.0% (Sep-26) ABS · % · Monthly · CSV

Period	%
Sep 2026	5.0%
Aug 2026	5.0%
Jul 2026	5.0%
Jun 2026	4.9%
May 2026	4.9%
Apr 2026	4.9%
Mar 2026	5.0%
Feb 2026	5.0%
Jan 2026	5.0%
Dec 2025	4.7%
Nov 2025	4.6%
Oct 2025	4.7%
Sep 2025	4.9%
Aug 2025	5.0%
Jul 2025	5.0%
Jun 2025	4.6%
May 2025	4.6%
Apr 2025	4.6%
Mar 2025	4.5%
Feb 2025	4.4%
Jan 2025	4.4%
Dec 2024	4.5%
Nov 2024	4.3%
Oct 2024	4.2%
Sep 2024	4.1%
Aug 2024	4.1%
Jul 2024	4.4%
Jun 2024	4.4%
May 2024	4.4%
Apr 2024	4.4%
Mar 2024	4.3%
Feb 2024	4.2%
Jan 2024	4.4%
Dec 2023	4.4%
Nov 2023	4.5%
Oct 2023	4.5%
Sep 2023	4.5%
Aug 2023	4.4%
Jul 2023	4.3%
Jun 2023	4.3%
May 2023	4.2%
Apr 2023	4.1%
Mar 2023	4.1%
Feb 2023	4.2%
Jan 2023	4.3%
Dec 2022	4.3%
Nov 2022	4.5%
Oct 2022	4.4%
Sep 2022	4.2%
Aug 2022	4.3%
Jul 2022	4.1%
Jun 2022	4.2%
May 2022	4.2%
Apr 2022	4.5%
Mar 2022	5.0%
Feb 2022	4.7%
Jan 2022	5.0%
Dec 2021	5.1%
Nov 2021	5.3%
Oct 2021	5.3%

Period	pp
Sep 2026	0.0
Jan 2026	0.3
Dec 2025	0.1
Sep 2025	-0.1
Aug 2025	0.0
Nov 2024	0.1
Oct 2024	0.1
Apr 2024	0.1
Mar 2024	0.1
Jan 2024	0.0
Dec 2023	-0.1
Nov 2023	0.0
Sep 2023	0.1
Mar 2023	-0.1
Feb 2023	-0.1
Jan 2023	0.0
Dec 2022	-0.2
Nov 2022	0.1
Sep 2022	-0.1
Jul 2022	-0.1
Jun 2022	0.0
Apr 2022	-0.5
Mar 2022	0.3
Feb 2022	-0.3
Jul 2021	-0.7
Jun 2021	-0.6
May 2021	-0.6
Apr 2021	-0.1
Mar 2021	0.2
Feb 2021	0.5
Oct 2020	-0.8
Sep 2020	0.1
Apr 2020	-0.2
Mar 2020	0.0
Dec 2019	0.0
Nov 2019	0.0
Mar 2019	0.1
Feb 2019	-0.3
Jan 2019	-0.3
Dec 2018	-0.2
Nov 2018	-0.1
Oct 2018	0.1
May 2016	-0.1
Apr 2016	0.0
Mar 2015	-0.2
Feb 2015	0.0
Apr 2011	0.0
Mar 2011	-0.2
Apr 2008	0.0
Mar 2008	0.3
Dec 2005	0.0
Nov 2005	0.1
May 2005	0.2
Apr 2005	0.1
Aug 2004	-0.1
Jul 2004	0.0
Dec 2001	0.0
Nov 2001	0.0
Sep 1999	0.0
Aug 1999	-0.2

Period	pp
Sep 2026	0.1
Aug 2026	0.0
Dec 2025	0.2
Oct 2025	0.5
Aug 2025	0.9
Mar 2025	0.2
Dec 2024	0.1
Sep 2024	-0.4
Mar 2024	0.2
Feb 2024	0.0
Jun 2023	0.1
Mar 2023	-0.9
Dec 2022	-0.8
Oct 2022	-0.9
Sep 2022	-1.0
Apr 2022	-3.1
Mar 2022	-2.7
Sep 2021	-2.0
Jun 2021	0.7
Apr 2021	2.9
Mar 2021	2.8
Feb 2021	2.6
Nov 2020	1.4
Sep 2020	2.3
Mar 2020	-0.1
Feb 2020	0.0
Dec 2019	-0.7
Nov 2019	-0.9
Oct 2019	-1.0
Feb 2019	-1.1
Dec 2018	-0.8
Oct 2018	-0.8
Apr 2017	-2.1
Apr 2016	-1.4
Feb 2016	-1.8
Feb 2015	-2.2
Mar 2012	1.2
Mar 2011	1.0
Mar 2009	6.0
Mar 2008	0.6
Nov 2006	0.0
Apr 2006	0.0
Nov 2005	-0.1
Jul 2005	0.3
Apr 2005	-0.1
Jul 2004	-0.5
Nov 2002	1.0
Nov 2001	0.5
Aug 2000	-1.2

About this indicator

Source

Central Statistics Office

Frequency

Monthly

Release

About one month after the reference period (monthly or quarterly depending on the country).

What it is

Ireland's unemployment rate is the share of jobless people in the labour force. Published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) as a monthly estimate, it is the main gauge of the country's labour market.

How it's calculated

The CSO produces a seasonally adjusted monthly estimate based on the Labour Force Survey (LFS), on ILO criteria: someone without a job, available and actively seeking is counted as unemployed. The monthly figure is revised as the quarterly LFS data come in.

Market implications

Its path gauges the momentum of Ireland's highly open economy. A strong labour market supports household consumption and income and, within the euro area, feeds the ECB's read on the bloc.

Limitations

The monthly estimate is revised with the quarterly LFS results and is subject to sampling error. In addition, the weight of multinationals and the quirks of the Irish market mean the rate may not fully reflect domestic activity.