Ireland suffers one of the biggest falls within the EU in number of hours worked

The reduction in Irish labour activity was almost twice the EU average of 11% for the period.

Ireland recorded a 20.7% drop in labour activity by people in their main job between the first and second quarter of 2020. Picture: iStock

Ireland has suffered one of the biggest falls in the number of hours worked by its labour force of any EU member state as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

New figures published by the European Commission show the Republic recorded a 20.7% drop in labour activity by people in their main job between the first and second quarter of 2020.