The CSO released the latest Quarterly National Household Survey which looks at the labour market, employment and unemployment between January and March of this year. Figures show that the first quarter of 2016 saw employment continue to grow and unemployment continue to decrease.
Below we breakdown the main figures from the latest report.
Unemployment declines for 15 successive quarters on annual basis
Unemployment is down in the year to Q1 2016 to 179,500, a decrease of 33,300 people. This is the 15th consecutive quarter that the number of unemployed people has fallen on an annual basis.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2016 was revised to 7.9%, down from a high of 15.1% in February 2012.
The long term unemployment rate is down from 6% to 4.7% in the year to Q1 2016. Long-term unemployment accounted for 56.1% of total unemployment in Q1 2016 compared with 59.7% a year earlier and 60.5% in the first quarter of 2014. Long term unemployed are classified as those unemployed for 12 months or more.
Ireland is ahead of the EU average in terms of unemployment levels; by March 2016 EU-28 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.8% compared to 8.1% in Ireland.
2.4% increase in number of people in employment
1,976,500 people are now working in Ireland, an increase of 46,900 or 2.4% in the year to Q1 2016. This is the 14th successive quarter showing an annual increase in employment.
The majority of the jobs created over the last year were full-time positions – 30,700 jobs, while part-time employment is up 16,300 over the year. The number of self-employed people also increased by 6,700 or 2.1% over the year to 325,500.
Increase in employment in 12 of 14 sectors
12 of 14 sectors have seen an increase in employment, with the largest increase in the Administration and Support Service Activities sector which grew by 9.9% (6,100). The construction sector also saw a large jump in employment, with an increase of 7.8% or 9,500 jobs. The largest rate of decline was seen in the financial, insurance and real estate activities sector at 1.5% (1,600).
| KEY | |
| 1- | Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
| 2- | Industry |
| 3- | Construction |
| 4- | Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
| 5- | Transportation and storage |
| 6- | Accommodation and food storage activities |
| 7- | Information and communication |
| 8- | Financial, insurance and real estate activities |
| 9- | Professional, scientific and technical activities |
| 10- | Administrative and support service activities |
| 11- | Public administration and defence; compulsory social security |
| 12- | Education |
| 13- | Human health and social work activities |
| 14- | Other NACE activities |
More information
Get the full results of the CSO QNHS figures for Q1 2016.
Find out about the government’s jobs programmes including the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work here.