Labour productivity falls by 1.7% in final quarter of 2025

Total value of labour productivity came in at €120.50 per hour at the end of last year

The CSO found the mining and quarrying sector to have the largest growth in labour productivity in the final quarter of 2025.

Domestic productivity in Ireland was steady at the end of 2025, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show, with domestic labour productivity remaining above €57 since early 2023. 

Its value was slightly higher in the last three months of 2024, totalling €58.75 between October and December 2025. The CSO said it remains above levels seen before the pandemic, with an average of €53.82 per hour recorded between 2017 and 2019. 

In its latest release measuring productivity in Ireland, the CSO said that after five consecutive quarters of growth, labour productivity in the foreign sector fell by just over 4% in the final three months of 2025. However, the CSO said it remained "at a high level" of €511.40 per hour. 

Foreign sector labour productivity has averaged €452.98 since the beginning of 2023.

CSO statistician Kenneth Kennedy said labour productivity is a "key indicator" for the Irish economy and measures the amount of output per hour worked in a sector.

"The fall in Labour productivity for the total economy in indicates that the economy became less efficient compared with the third quarter of 2025," said Mr Kennedy. 

The CSO found the mining and quarrying sector to have the largest growth in labour productivity in the final quarter of 2025. This was made up of growth in gross value added (GVA) of 11% and a drop in hours worked of 47.7%. 

The CSO also noted that mining and quarrying accounted for the lowest number of labour hours worked at 1.6m or 0.14% of total hours worked.

In contrast, a fall in productivity in Construction of almost 11% was made up of a decrease in GVA of 3% and an increase in hours worked of almost 8%. Total Economy productivity observed a fall in GVA of 0.2% and an increase in hours worked of 1.5%.

Overall, total economy productivity decreased by 1.7% in the final quarter of 2025, coming in at €120.50 per hour.

While movements in productivity should generally be viewed over a longer time period, Mr Kennedy said that these results provide the most up-to-date picture of productivity in the Irish economy to keep policymakers, economists, and the wider public as informed as possible. 

Due to the considerable influence of the Foreign sector on productivity measures for the total economy, Mr Kennedy said the CSO's research prioritised the domestic sector. 

Total Economy multifactor productivity was down by 0.8% in the final quarter of 2025 compared with the previous three-month period, the CSO said. 

Meanwhile, quarterly multifactor productivity for the Domestic sector was up marginally by 0.1%, while foreign sector multifactor productivity decreased by 0.4%.

"Multifactor productivity (MFP) is a more detailed measure of overall productivity that considers labour, capital, and additional factors such as education, skills, organisational practices, and changes in technology," Mr Kennedy noted.