Unemployment rate of 4.5% in January

The country’s unemployment rate stood at 4.5% in both December and January after the December rate was revised down from 4.9%, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today.

The jobless rate had stood at 4.2% in January last year.

Unemployment fell to a near record low of 4.1% early last year after the economy rebounded sharply from the Covid-19 pandemic but increased gradually during 2023 as economic growth moderated.

The Central Statistics Office did not provide an explanation for the downward revision in its release.

Today’s CSO figures show that the unemployment rate for men was 4.6% in January and for women it stood at 4.4%.

The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood at 127,700 in January, compared with 127,500 in December 2023.

There was an increase of 12,600 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in January compared to a year earlier, it added.

Meanwhile, the CSO said that the youth jobless rate rose to 12.1% in January from a revised rate of 11.5% the previous month.

Jack Kennedy, senior economist at global jobs platform Indeed, today’s CSO figures represent a “resilient performance” by the Irish labour market and economy.

“It comes at a time when an easing of the cost-of-living crisis and a predicted halt to rising interest rates should boost consumer sentiment and potentially allow businesses to refocus on their growth plans,” Mr Kennedy said.

The economist said that Indeed has been able to foresee the modest softening of the labour market over recent months by monitoring the level of job positions on its Irish site, with a decrease in ads suggesting a slowing of available jobs and less demand for workers.

“Job postings fell to 26% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of October and were down to 16% at the end of December 2023, on a seasonally adjusted basis, matching the continued cooling of the labour market,” he said.

“Our most recent figures, however, showed postings were up to 23% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of January,” he noted.

He also said that if the unemployment rate levels-off as predicted throughout 2024, the jobs market will continue to be competitive.

Indeed’s recent Hardest Jobs to Fill survey found roles for construction workers and engineers dominate the top 20 jobs that remain online after 60 days.

“The data suggests that employers in these sectors are continuing to find it difficult to source people for positions that are key to delivering the type of transformation required for the country to respond to climate change and to address gaps in infrastructure and housing supply,” he stated.