Unemployment rate ticks up again in October

Wage data is showing a rise to 4.1% year-on-year in September, up from 3.7% in August, which was “most likely driven by ongoing recruitment difficulties in key sectors such as engineering, construction, and financial services”.

The unemployment rate rose again during the month of October to 4.8%, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The rate is up slightly from the 4.7% recorded in September and the 4.5% recorded in October last year.

According to the data, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5% for men—up from 4.9% in September—and 4.5% for women which is unchanged.

Youth unemployment—which encompasses people aged between 15 and 24 years of age—is unchanged at 12.5%. The rate for all other workers up to the age of 74 was 3.6%, up from 3.5%.

Conor Delves, statistician at the CSO, said the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 132,800 during last month compared with 130,100 in September.

“The seasonally adjusted number of males unemployed was up to 73,500 in October, compared with 71,000 in September 2023. The seasonally adjusted number of females unemployed increased by 100 over the month to October 2023 from 59,100 to 59,200,” he said.

The Monthly Unemployment rate for October 2023 was 4.8%https://t.co/Ni9KhBhjg8#CSOIreland #Ireland #LabourForceSurvey #LabourForce #Households #Families #IrishFamilies #IrishHouseholds #LabourMarket #LiveRegister #Jobs #Employment #Unemployment pic.twitter.com/9hDqtQn5Dh

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) November 2, 2023

Jack Kennedy, senior economist at jobs platform Indeed, said this is the second month in a row where the unemployment rate has risen “indicating an ongoing softening in the Irish labour market”.

“Despite these increases, there is no major cause for concern just yet. Irish job postings on Indeed remain 25.5% above pre-pandemic levels as of the end of October, although this is down from 27% at the end of September,” he said.

Mr Kennedy added that wage data is showing a rise to 4.1% year-on-year in September, up from 3.7% in August, which he said was “most likely driven by ongoing recruitment difficulties in key sectors such as engineering, construction, and financial services”.

“Wage growth in Ireland is likely to remain flat in the near to medium term,” he said.