Business

Unemployment rises to 4.3% in March

Latest data indicate there were 122,100 people classified as unemployed last month

Ireland's labour market remained resilient in Q1. Photograph: Frank Miller

Eoin Burke-Kennedy
Thu Apr 4 2024 - 11:51

The State’s unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent last month.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said the number of people classified as unemployed – on a seasonally adjusted basis – was 122,100 in March compared with 120,200 in February.

The headline number for March represented an annual increase of 9,400.

The Republic’s jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.2 per cent in February, down from 4.6 per cent in January, despite a general softening of economic conditions here and abroad.

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The CSO said the unemployment rate for males was 4 per cent in March and 4.6 per cent for women.

The youth unemployment rate, the rate of people aged 15-24 years that are unemployed, was unchanged at 10.5 per cent.

“Overall, the Irish labour market remained resilient in Q1 and barring any other major shocks to the economy, the outlook for the remainder of the year is positive, although it is possible that there will be some further modest softening,” Jack Kennedy jobs platform Indeed said.

Mr Kennedy noted Irish job postings on the Indeed website were down to 14 per cent above pre-pandemic levels at the end of March, compared with 17 per cent at the end of February 2024 and 22 per cent in January.

“We expect to see job postings continue to gradually recede to levels similar to those prevailing before the pandemic,” he said.

“Wage growth in Ireland continues to hold steady and was at 4.1 per cent year-on-year at the end of February. This reflects the ongoing pressure employers are under to recruit and retain staff at a time when the cost of living remains high, but may ease somewhat later this year if the labour market continues to soften and cost-of-living pressures ease further,” he said.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times

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