Headline unemployment in the Irish economy was measured at 4.9 per cent in November, marginally down on the 5 per cent rate recorded in October.
Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures indicate the seasonally adjusted number of people classified as being unemployed was 144,400 last month compared with 147,100 in October.
The November total represents an annual increase of 23,200.
The youth unemployment rate – the jobless rate for people aged 15-24 years – was 13.4 per cent, unchanged from the October rate.
RM Block
The CSO has revised upwards its measure of unemployment since July after incorporating findings from the latest Labour Force Survey.
The revised figures showed the State’s jobless rate reached 5 per cent in July for the first time since January 2022.
If Irish households are so rich, why does it feel like an illusion?
“The increase has prompted a new focus on the CSO’s monthly report but is unlikely to cause too much concern in the medium-term unless the overall rate of unemployment continues to trend upwards to a greater extent over the coming months,” Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, said.
“It is worth nothing that forecasts in December 2024 predicted the unemployment rate would increase to 5 per cent by the end of 2025 before steadying again,” he said.
“The CSO’s Labour Force figures will be important to watch going forward as the most recent Q3 report showed the rate at which employment is growing is decreasing while the rate at which unemployment is rising is increasing,” Mr Kennedy said.
Despite the global headwinds related to tariffs, the Irish economy is expected to grow by nearly 11 per cent in traditional GDP (gross domestic product) terms this year.
The bulge in GDP reflects the stockpiling of pharmaceutical exports in the US in advance of tariffs in the first part of the year.
