The State’s unemployment rate edged down to 4.8 per cent in April despite the economic uncertainty caused by conflict in the Middle East.
This compares with a revised rate of 5 per cent in March.
The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) revisions indicate unemployment reached 5 per cent in January this year and stayed at this rate for both February and March.
The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people classified as being unemployed was 140,300 in April, compared with 146,200 the previous month.
RM Block
This represented an annual rise of 6,100.
Despite global headwinds related to tariffs and energy prices, the State’s labour market has remained strong with a record 2.83 million employed.
PrepayPower are hiking their prices - will other energy suppliers soon follow suit?
The CSO said the unemployment rate for males and females in April was 4.5 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.
The youth monthly unemployment rate was 9.8 per cent, down from a revised rate of 11.2 per cent in March.
“The new figures come amid ongoing global volatility with the conflict in the Middle East prompting concerns over the potential medium to long-term impact of high oil prices, disruption to shipping and inflationary pressures,” Virginia Sondergeld from recruitment platform Indeed said.
“While the latest reports suggest both sides in the conflict are close to reaching a deal and the markets have reacted accordingly with oil prices falling, forecasts for economic growth are still being reviewed globally given prices for goods and services have already increased and governments have had to introduce emergency measures,” she said.
“The full impact of the conflict will depend on whether a resolution is found and proves lasting, but as it stands forecasters in Ireland have already lowered expectations for economic and jobs growth in 2026 and 2027,” she added.
“While both the economy and the jobs market are still expected to grow, this is now predicted to happen at a slower rate,” Sondergeld said.
