This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis using data from the Labour Force Survey. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see: Information Note - Implications of COVID-19 on the Labour Force Survey - Quarter 2 2020 Update.
The Educational Attainment Thematic Report is compiled using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). It is a household survey which replaced the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) at the beginning of Q3 2017. Interviews took place in Q2 2020. The LFS is the official source of quarterly labour force estimates for Ireland including the official rates of employment and unemployment. Questions on educational attainment are included in the core LFS questionnaire each quarter. The Educational Attainment Thematic Report presents the LFS data for adults between 18 and 64 years old with differing levels of educational attainment based on these questions.
As the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is obliged to follow standard definitions and methodology when calculating official estimates from the LFS, it has been decided to compile the Quarter 2 2020 LFS estimates in the usual way, without adjustment for COVID-19 impacts, such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). The separate COVID-19 adjusted estimates are available at a national level within the LFS publication. See the Labour Force Survey Q2 2020:
Labour Force Survey (LFS) Quarter 2 2020
The rates of employment and unemployment listed in the Educational Attainment Thematic Report are not adjusted for COVID-19 impacts, as adjustments were just calculated at the aggregated level and are indicative of the upper (unemployment) and lower (employment) levels for the overall population. This approach does not allow for a disaggregated level of detail such as adjusted COVID-19 employment figures by educational attainment.
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Results presented in this report incorporate adjustments to the historic LFS data series to take account of revisions to enable comparability with the new LFS for headline indicators. Data in this report also uses the new NUTS regional groupings which were introduced in Q1 2018. Due to changes to the questionnaire, the interview mode, the introduction of a new sample, data processing changes and other methodological enhancements, there are changes in the levels of some series. Therefore, the Q2 2020 data may not be directly comparable to the Q2 2017 and earlier series, and users should note this when examining annual changes over the time series. Further information is available in the background notes and in the information notes which accompanied the Q3 2017 and Q1 2018 LFS releases. See: Information Notice - Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2017 and Information Notice - Labour Force Survey Quarter 1 2018 Users should also note that, as referenced in our Press Statement of 20 March 2020, the CSO had to suspend direct face-to-face interviews for the LFS (and other household surveys) due to the social distancing measures introduced in Ireland because of COVID-19. Consequently, all interviews for the LFS since then have been carried out using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing). |
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Higher educational attainment levels are linked with higher employment rates. Persons aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification are more than twice as likely to be employed (83%) than those with no formal education/primary education (36%) in Q2 2020. Conversely, those with no formal education/primary education were three times as likely to be unemployed (9%) than those with a third level qualification (3%). The proportion of those aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification was 43% in Q2 2020, while more than one in twenty (6%) reported that they had primary education/no formal education only. See Table 1.1.
In 2019, Ireland has higher rates of 3rd level or tertiary education in comparison to the EU-28 average, with a peak of 55% of 25-34 year olds with a tertiary level qualification in comparison to the EU-28 average of 41%. The proportion of people with a tertiary qualification then decreases with age, with 32% of 55-64 year olds in Ireland having a tertiary qualification. Across all age groups, more persons in Ireland have a tertiary level qualification than for the EU. The largest difference between Ireland and the EU is seen at the 35-44 year old cohort, with a 15% point difference. See Table 1.2.
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