Irish unemployment rate falls to fresh low of 4%
Last week’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) showed that Irish employment growth continued at a rapid 3% pace in Q1 2025, with the unemployment rate falling to a fresh 24-year low of 4.0%. The data show that the labour market continues to tighten, evident in pay growth of 5% through 2024. This is despite labour supply responding via a record-high participation rate and the population aged 15-64 expanding by 2% in the twelve months to Q1 2025, helped by further net inward migration. April’s Purchasing Manager Indices (PMIs) and the European Commission’s business confidence survey did not point to any marked negative impact on Irish firms’ employment intentions from tariff related uncertainty. So after a very strong start to 2025, the risk to our forecast that employment growth will slow to 1.8% this year likely lies to the upside.
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