David McNamara: Irish jobs market cooling as firms pull back on hiring

Unemployment remains historically low, but has been grinding higher, and reached 5% in Q3 on a seasonally adjusted basis

The latest labour force survey (LFS) for the third quarter shows annual employment growth decelerated to 1% year-on-year from 2.3% in the second quarter, with nearly 31,000 jobs created in the past year. File photo

Mon, 24 Nov, 2025 - 13:58

David McNamara

David McNamara is the Group Chief Economist at AIB responsible for leading the bank's macroeconomic analysis and provide insights for both national and international stakeholders.

The recent exceptional growth in the Irish jobs market looks to have passed, but the apparent chill in the labour market is more nuanced than the headline statistics suggest.

The latest labour force survey (LFS) for the third quarter shows annual employment growth decelerated to 1% year-on-year from 2.3% in the second quarter, with nearly 31,000 jobs created in the past year.