Labour Market Information: Ireland

National level - Ireland

^{* The years referenced in this report vary, as the data is based on the most up-to-date information available for each indicator, as of December 2024.}

Labour market

As of 1 January 2024, about 5.3 million people lived in Ireland. The gross domestic product per inhabitant was EUR 99 000 in 2022, 179.7% higher than the average of EUR 35 400 per inhabitant in the EU27. Between 2018 and 2022, the GDP per capita increased by 47%.

^{Note: nama_10r_2gdp, Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu)}

In 2023, more than 2.8 million people were active on the labour market in Ireland. The employment rate was 74%, 3.6 percentage points higher than the EU27 average and 5.4 percentage points higher compared to 2018..In 2023, for women, the employment rate was 69.9%, for men, the employment rate was 78.2%, and for youth, the employment rate was 48.2%, all above the EU average.

^{Note: lfst_r_lfe2emprt, data refer to working age population (15-64), youth age group (15-24)  Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu)}

In 2023, the unemployment rate was nearly matching the level registered in 2022. In 2023, the unemployment rate has not yet returned to the level before the pandemic, when it equalled 5.9% in 2018, and 5.1% in 2019. The unemployment rate is consistently below the EU27 average. In 2023, it was 1.7 percentage points lower in Ireland than in the EU27.

In 2023, 70.9% of the active workforce were from Ireland, 10.1% from other EU Member States and 18.9 from third countries. In the EU27, as of 2023, the highest proportion of the workforce comes from the respective country (85% on average), while on average a smaller portion is from foreign countries (4.3% from other EU Member States, and 10.5% from third countries).

In 2022, most employees worked in wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (18.4%), followed by manufacturing (11.8%), accommodation and food service activities (10.3%) and professional, scientific and technical activities (9.3%). In terms of number of enterprises, most can be found in construction (20.9%), professional, scientific and technical activities (13.9%), and wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (13.3%).

In Ireland, the highest proportion of employees (32.1%) worked in large companies with more than 250 employees. These companies accounted for only 0.2% of all enterprises in the country, with just 886 of such businesses. 26.9% of persons employed worked in micro companies with up to 9 employees, 19.8% of persons employed worked in medium companies with 50 to 249 employees, 12.4% of persons employed worked in small companies with 20 to 49 employees and 8.8% of persons employed worked in small companies with 10 to 19 employees.

Vacancies

In 2024, in Ireland, the occupational groups with the highest occurrence of shortage occupations were: science and engineering professionals, information and communications technology professionals and health professionals.

Read more about labour shortages and surpluses in Europe: Labour shortages and surpluses in Europe 2023 | European Labour Authority (europa.eu)

Job vacancy rate

Regarding the job vacancy rate (defined as the number of job vacancies expressed as a percentage of the total sum of occupied posts and job vacancies), in 2023 this was 1.2 % in the industry, construction and services, 1.6 percentage points lower than the EU27 on average. This rate has increased by 0.3 percentage points compared to 2022 and it is still above the situation before 2020, when it stood only at 1%.

^{Note: jvs_a_rate_r2, Statistics | Eurostat}

The sectors with the highest vacancy rates were human health and social work activities; education; arts, entertainment and recreation; public administration and defence; compulsory social security; administrative and support services.

^{Note: jvs_a_rate_r2, Statistics | Eurostat}

Widely used job portals

Wages

Minimum wage

As of 1 January 2024, the statutory minimum wage in Ireland was set at 2146.3 EUR.

Monthly average gross and net earnings

In 2023, the gross average earnings of a single person stood at EUR 4992, while the EU27 average was EUR 3417. The equivalent net wage was EUR 3 596 in Ireland, compared to EUR 2351 in the EU27. Compared to 2018, gross average earnings increased by 26.8% in Ireland and by 19.8% in the EU27. During the same period, the net wages have increased by 22.9% in Ireland and by 22.1% in the EU27.

^{Note: earn_nt_net, Single person earning 100% average, annual rates transformed into 12 monthly payments. Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu)}

Trends

Go directly to Female labour market participation | Flexible work arrangements | Insufficient number of jobseekers with the required skills | Issues related to remuneration | Remote work | Traineeships, internships and apprenticeships | Unemployment

Female labour market participation

Female labour market participation has been increasing, a trend which was catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, 61.4 percent of working age women participate in the labour market. The gender participation gap is currently at the lowest level in the history of the Labour Force Survey, at 9.5 percentage points overall, and at 2.7 percentage points for people under the age of 30.

Flexible work arrangements (related to e.g. working time, place of work or type of contract)

Remote working is now a common practice in Ireland. In 2024, 36% of workers worked at least one day a week from home. Under Irish law, you may work remotely by agreement with your employer (you may need to complete 6 months of service before your employer agrees to this).

Insufficient number of jobseekers with the required skills

Ireland has particular shortages of people with the skills required for the following jobs: Construction workers, Nurses, Accountants, Software developers, Engineers (various), HR/Finance/Logistics/Bioscience-production managers, factory workers, healthcare assistants, nursing home care workers. 

Issues related to remuneration (e.g. minimum wage, living wage, subsidies)

Ireland has the second highest minimum wage in the EU, equivalent to over €2 100 per month. Ireland also has the third highest average salary in the EU, at approximately €58 700 in 2023.

Remote work

In 2023, 15.3% of employed persons in Ireland sometimes worked from home, compared to 13.3% in the EU27. Additionally, 21.4% of employed persons in Ireland usually worked from home, while in the EU27 it was 8.9%.

^{Note: lfsa_ehomp, Product - Datasets - Eurostat}

Traineeships, internships and apprenticeships

Traineeships and apprenticeships in Ireland are open to EU/EEA/UK citizens. Non-EU/EEA/UK citizens can apply for an employment permit if they are offered a job (except a job on the Ineligible List of occupations): this can include apprenticeships/traineeships if the job meets the eligibility conditions set out here.

Unemployment (e.g. long-term, youth, female, structural or low-skilled)

Ireland has been operating at very low levels of unemployment for a number of years and has had historically high levels of job vacancies over the past 3 years.

Northern and Western

With 930 208 inhabitants, Northern and Western represented about 17.6% of the population in Ireland in 2023.

The gross domestic product per capita, adjusted for price levels (PPS) in Northern and Western was 125.4% of the EU27 average, well below the national average of 279.7%.

In 2023, more than 479 500 people were active in the labour market in Northern and Western. 48.7% had tertiary education, 36.1% had secondary education, and 13.3% had primary education. The employment rate in Northern and Western was 61.4 % in 2023, 1.3 percentage points lower than the national average in Ireland and 1.3 percentage points higher compared to 2022.

The employment rate for women in 2023 was 56.1%, men had an employment rate of 66.8%, and for the youth the employment rate was 46.3%, all below the national average.

^{Note: lfst_r_lfe2emprt, Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu), data refer to age group 15 years or over}

The unemployment rate in Northern and Western was 3.8% in 2023, in line with the national average in the same year and in line with the previous year.

^{Note: lfst_r_lfu3rt, Statistics | Eurostat, data refer to age group 15 years or over}

Southern

With 1 741 180 inhabitants, Southern represented about 33% of the population in Ireland in 2023.

The gross domestic product per capita, adjusted for price levels (PPS) in Southern was 339.8% of the EU27 average, well above the national average of 279.7%.

In 2023, more than 906 100 people were active in the labour market in Southern. 48.1% had tertiary education, 38.2% had secondary education, and 11.7% had primary education. The employment rate in Southern was 61 % in 2023, 1.7 percentage points lower than the national average in Ireland and in line with 2022 figures.

The employment rate for women in 2023 was 56.3%, men had an employment rate of 65.9%, and for the youth the employment rate was 48.8%. The employment rates for women and men were below the national average, while the employment rate for the youth was above the national average.

^{Note: lfst_r_lfe2emprt, Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu), data refer to age group 15 years or over}

The unemployment rate in Southern was 4.2% in 2023, in line with the national average in the same year and in line with the previous year.

^{Note: lfst_r_lfu3rt, Statistics | Eurostat, data refer to age group 15 years or over}