Unemployment rate steady in Ireland with youth unemployment 'a topic of conversation globally'

Youth unemployment rate stands at 12.2%, up slightly from August. File photo

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged in September at 4.7% with the youth unemployment rate ticking up slightly, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.

The unemployment rate is up compared to the same month last year when it stood at 4.1%. The number of people unemployed last month stood at 138,200, compared with 138,600 in August.

Breaking down the results by gender, the monthly unemployment rate for men in September was 4.8%, down from 4.9% in August. The rate for women in September 2025 was 4.5%, unchanged from August 2025.

In terms of age, the monthly unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years — which is used to calculate the youth unemployment rate — was 12.2%, up from a revised rate of 12.1% in August.

The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 years was 3.6%, unchanged month-on-month.

Chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, Kate English, said the labour market to date this year has shown to be "resilient" despite the “volatile external environment”.

“Youth unemployment is also a topic of conversation globally. In Ireland, unemployment between the ages of 15 and 24 reached 12.2% in September.

“This is up 1.7% in the year and while it is the second month over 12% this year, we also saw a fall last month. Until it is consistently trending higher, it will be difficult to establish what the cause may be," she said.