Labour Force Survey (LFS) results published by the Central Statistics Office show further employment growth in Ireland’s labour market, with 87,400 jobs created in the year to Q2 2023. Employment now stands at 2.63 million, an increase of approximately 3.4 percent over Q2 2022.
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, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, said, “for another successive quarter, we have reached a new record for the highest number of people employed in our country than ever before, with the monthly unemployment rate standing at just 4.3% in July. It is a testament to the hard work and remarkable resilience of Irish enterprise. Female participation rates in the labour market in particular are now at historic levels, with more women availing of opportunities for employment.”
Commenting on the figures, the Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said, “these figures indicate the continued strength of the labour market. More than 88,000 jobs were added in the year to Q2 with 8,600 added in the second quarter alone, on a seasonally adjusted basis. As a result, the employment rate rose to an all-time high of 74.2 per cent. This is a significant achievement given the economic headwinds faced in recent years and points to the resilience of the labour market and the success of government policies introduced in response to these challenges.”
“Positively, despite the correction that took place in the ICT sector in the second half of last year, employment in ICT rose by 2.2 per cent on a quarterly basis in the second quarter to a new record high of 174,000. Overall, these figures suggest that the labour market is now operating at or possibly beyond capacity. With labour demand still strong according to job postings, the labour market is likely to remain tight over the near term. This presents a growing risk of accelerating wage pressures. Government policy will therefore focus on alleviating supply-side bottlenecks while avoiding contributing to a wage-price spiral that could damage our competitiveness and impact our economy.”
