Unemployment rises marginally in October to 4.2%

Monthly increase of 0.1% driven by rising unemployment in the the 15 to 24 age group

The youth unemployment rate, which measures the number of people aged 15- 24 who are out of work, increased to 10.6% from a revised 10.4% in September 2024. Picture: Andy Gibson.

Unemployment ticked up slightly in October, rising marginally by 0.1% compared to the previous month.

New figures released on Wednesday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) found that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate grew to 4.2% in October, up from a revised rate of 4.1% in September. 

On an annual basis, the unemployment rate of 4.2% recorded in October 2024 is down from 4.5% in the same month last year.

Breaking down the results by sex, the monthly unemployment rate for males in October was 4.1%, up from a revised rate of 4.0% in the previous month and down from a revised rate of 4.4% in October last year.

The monthly unemployment rate in October was 4.3% for females, unchanged from the previous month and down from a rate of 4.6% in October 2023.

The youth unemployment rate, which measures the number of people aged 15- 24 who are out of work, increased to 10.6% from a revised 10.4% in September 2024.

The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 years was 3.2%, which remained unchanged from the revised rate in the previous month, the CSO said.

"The slight rise in unemployment comes as job postings on Indeed continue to slow," warned Jack Kennedy, senior economist at the job posting website. "

As of November, the Indeed Job Postings Index for Ireland – a real-time measure of labour market activity was down 20% year on year, although it remains 15% above the 2020 pre-pandemic baseline.

Mr Kennedy added that the unemployment rate appears set to remain below 5% for all of 2024.

"This remarkable performance comes amid cautious optimism for moderate economic growth for Ireland in 2025 as inflation rates continue to cool, although not quite as quickly as hoped for.

"Concerns remain, however, over the risks to the Irish economy posed by geopolitical tensions and uncertainty, infrastructure challenges and the highly concentrated nature of the country’s corporation tax base."