The number of people at work has reached the highest level in the history of the State, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained stable at 4.6 per cent in February, unchanged from the revised January rate, but up from 4.4 per cent in the same month last year.
The number of people unemployed was 137,500 in February, compared with 137,800 in January. There was an increase of 8,300 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in February when compared with February 2025.
The youth unemployment rate, which covers people aged 15-24, was 12.4 per cent, which was up from a revised rate of 11.9 per cent in January.
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The monthly unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 years was 3.5 per cent, down from 3.6 per cent in January.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, said the latest revisions by the CSO show the unemployment rate has remained at 4.6 per cent for the past four months.
[ The Irish jobs market is slowing and younger people are in the firing lineOpens in new window ]
“The figure highlights the ongoing robust strength of the Irish economy and the resilience of the labour market despite a sustained but now stabilising softening in the level of jobs on offer,” he said.
“The latest CSO Labour Force Survey for the last quarter of 2025 showed there are now more than 2.83 million people at work in Ireland – the highest amount ever recorded in the State.
“This means that around 450,000 more people are now in employment than just before the pandemic, with around 57,000 of these jobs added in the past 12 months.”
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The unemployment rate has now also averaged below 5 per cent for 16 consecutive quarters.
“This comes despite ongoing global uncertainty and a steady softening of the labour market over the last three years,” said Kennedy.
The Indeed Irish Job Postings Index, a real-time measure of employer demand, has fallen by 47 per cent from a post-pandemic peak of 204.5 in 2022.
“Crucially, however, the data also shows that the level of Irish job postings has remained stable since April of last year, remaining at or close to 8 per cent above the February 1st, 2020 pre-pandemic baseline,” Kennedy continued.
“The slowdown in the number of available jobs has possibly eased some of the pressure on employers who have struggled to recruit workers due to the tight labour market.”
Indeed’s data shows the share of Irish job postings mentioning at least one employee benefit has levelled off over the past 20 months, after rising steadily since 2018.
Standing at 48 per cent in November of last year, the share was unchanged from its level in May 2024.
Kate English, chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, said unemployment remains at “historically low levels”.
“The monthly rise in youth unemployment to 12.4 per cent will catch attention,” she said. “However, it is worth noting that this figure remains below levels recorded prior to Covid-19.
“While the stability in the unemployment rate is positive, the latest labour force figures confirmed a softening in the employment market in the last part of 2025. This means we should expect to see more moderate employment growth in Ireland in 2026.
“Labour market dynamics are also intrinsically linked to the external environment. More global volatility is likely to have a negative impact on employment.
“Unemployment was always going to be a data set I monitored closely in 2026, but the current conflict in the Gulf region will likely add another layer.”
