Unemployment rate down to 3.9% as 111,500 people out of work, says CSO

The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years decreased to 11.3%

CSO Central Statistics Office, Cork.29th June 2022. Pic: Larry Cummins.

The number of people unemployed has continued to fall, down to 3.9% in February, according to the Central Statistics Office. 

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 111,500 in February 2025, compared with 115,700 in January 2025. There was a fall of 5,600 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in February 2025 when compared with February 2024.

Unemployment edged down 0.1% from a rate of 4% in January, the CSO data showed. On an annual basis, the unemployment rate of 3.9% is down from a revised rate of 4.2% in February 2024.

The unemployment rate for males was 3.8% and for females was 3.9%. "The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males fell to 58,000 in February 2025, compared with 60,400 in January 2025. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in February 2025 fell to 53,400 from 55,300 in January 2025,” said CSO statistician in the labour market analysis section Conor Delves. 

In terms of age, the monthly unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years (youth unemployment rate) decreased to 11.3% from a revised rate of 11.8% in January 2025. The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 years was 2.8%, which was down from 2.9% in January 2025.