Irish employment up 1.4% in Q3 2024 to 2.78 million
This week’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) indicates that employment grew rapidly, by 1.4% during Q3 2024 to a fresh record high of 2.78 million, up 3.7% on the year. This has been facilitated by net migration, driving a similar sharp 3.5% gain in the labour force over the same period. Hence, despite exceptional job creation Ireland’s unemployment rate actually rose slightly on the quarter to 4.5%, with the participation rate rising to a 16-year high of 66.6%. The out-turn means that Irish employment now looks set to grow by at least 2.7% in calendar year 2024, above our previous forecast of 2.4%. However, the CSO’s alternative employee’s measure, based off income tax receipts, and recent PMI surveys have painted a softer picture. So despite the exceptional Q3 out-turn we will likely leave our forecast for 1.7% job growth in 2025 unchanged.
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