Employment growth greatest among those aged 65 and over

Monthly employee index tracks trends for payroll employees

Employment among people aged 65-plus increased 1.6 per cent on a monthly basis in November. Photograph: iStock
Employment among people aged 65-plus increased 1.6 per cent on a monthly basis in November. Photograph: iStock

Employment among people aged 65 and over rose more sharply in November than it did for other age groups, new data shows.

The Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) monthly employee index, which tracks trends for payroll employees only, found that employment among this older age group increased 1.6 per cent compared to the month before.

The rate of increase in employment among over 65s also climbed 11.3 per cent, a much faster rate than for other age groups.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, there were 67,800 payroll employees in the Republic aged 65 and over in November, up from 61,000 a year earlier, the CSO said.

READ SOME MORE

On an annual basis, the next highest growth was seen among 60-64 year-olds, where employment increased 6 per cent. The next largest monthly rise in employment was in the 15-19 age group, where there was a 1 per cent rise in employment.

The monthly employee index for both men and women rose by 0.2 per cent in the month. By sector, the largest monthly increase was in public administration and defence, where employment rose 1 per cent, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities, where it increased 0.9 per cent.

The only monthly fall was seen in services, where it slipped 0.2 per cent. Services is the smallest sector, with 4,400 employees in November 2024.

The seasonally adjusted employee index was up by 2.4 per cent in the 12 months to November.

  • Sign up for the Business Today newsletter and get the latest business news and commentary in your inbox every weekday morning
  • Opt in to Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
  • Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
  • Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here
Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics