The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (05 December 2023) released Census 2022 Profile 7 – Employment, Occupations and Commuting. This press release highlights some of the main results for Galway. A full list of county press releases is available.
| Kathleen Goulding | (+353) 1 895 1413 |
|---|---|
| Tony Downes | (+353) 1 895 1319 |
| censuspublicity@cso.ie | |
| pressoffice@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the results, Dr. Tracy Clegg, Statistician in the Census Division, said: “Profile 7 covers the topics of Employment, Unemployment and Commuting providing statistics, analysis and data tables. The report looks at people at work or unemployed, occupations and industrial sectors as well as the commuting patterns of workers, students and children in school or childcare. New for Census 2022 are the additional topics of commuting for childcare and time leaving workplace, school, college or childcare giving more rounded information on travelling patterns as well as information on working from home.”
Some highlights for Galway
People at Work/Unemployed
More than 224,000 people living in Galway in April 2022 were aged 15 and over and of these more than 125,500 people were at work. This included over 39,000 people at work in Galway City and almost 86,000 people working in Galway County. This was an overall increase of 14% (from the more than 110,000 people recorded as working in Census 2016). Nationally there were 2.3 million people at work in April 2022, which was up by 16%.
More than 10,700 people were unemployed in Galway in April 2022. This was considerably lower than the 2016 figure of more than 15,100 people (a decrease of 29%). The unemployment rate in Galway City was 9%, whereas it was 7% in Galway County. Nationally there were almost 211,000 people unemployed compared with over 297,000 in Census 2016. The unemployment rate was 8% in 2022 compared with 13% in 2016.
There were more than 35,300 retired people in Galway, up 24% since Census 2016. There was a 20% increase in the number of people who were unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability to almost 9,500 people. The number of people looking after their home/family fell by 15% to over 13,400.
The labour force participation rate in both Galway City and County was 61%, compared with 61% nationally. Among females in Galway City the rate was 56% while for males it was 67%. In Galway County the labour force participation rate for females was 56% and was 66% for males. Nationally the trend was similar at 56% for female labour force participation and 67% for males.
Of those at work in Galway City, over 28,600 were in full-time employment, while over 4,800 were working part-time. In Galway County, more than 65,000 were in full-time employment while almost 13,000 were working part-time.
Where people worked
The Manufacturing sector accounted for the largest number of workers in Galway City at almost 5,900. The Human Health and Social Work Activities was the next largest with over 5,200 workers followed by the Wholesale and Retail Trade sector with almost 4,400 workers. In the county, there were over 13,500 people employed in Manufacturing, and over 11,200 in Human Health and Social Work Activities. The Wholesale and Retail Trade sector accounted for over 9,600 workers.
Working From Home
A new question was included in Census 2022 asking people whether they ever worked from home and if so, for how many days per week. In Galway City, almost 21,500 people stated they never worked from home while over 12,300 people worked from home at least some of the time. Of these just over 4,000 people worked from home for five days per week, with just over 2,000 people working from home for one day and just under 2,000 for two days each week. Almost 51,900 people in Galway County never worked from home while almost 25,600 people did so at least part of the time. Of these, over 6,500 people worked from home for five days a week while almost 4,400 did so for one day and just over 4,300 worked from home two days a week.
Travelling to Work
Almost 110,000 people in Galway were travelling to work in April 2022. The majority of these drove to work, with almost 70,200 people driving to work by car in 2022. Commuters in the county area were among the most likely to drive to work, with 71% doing do. Overall, over 4,200 people travelled by bus while 500 went by train/Dart/Luas. Looking at active travel, 9,012 people walked to work, up from 8,872 in 2016, while 2,552 people cycled, up from 2,498 since 2016. In the city area, 16% of commuters walked to work, the second highest rate in the country.
Commuters in Galway were travelling for longer in April 2022, with an average journey time of 26.3 minutes compared with 25.5 minutes in 2016. Nationally, the average journey time increased from 28.2 minutes to 29.1 minutes between 2016 and 2022. City commuters had the shortest average journey times at 23 minutes. Almost 31,500 Galway commuters had a journey time of 15 to 30 minutes, while almost 23,900 people were travelling for less than 15 minutes. Overall, more than 9,300 people had a journey time of 60 minutes and over. Commuters in Galway City were among the least likely to have such a long commute, at 4%.
Travelling to School, College or Childcare
In Galway, nearly 9,000 children aged under 5 travelled to childcare or school. Most of these (almost 7,500) travelled by car, while 925 walked and 121 went by bus.
The majority of the almost 29,700 primary school aged children (5 to 12 years old) travelling to school in Galway in April 2022 also travelled by car, with just over 19,600 doing so. Primary school children in the county area were among the most likely to go to school by car at 70%. Overall, walking was the second most common means of travel at almost 4,100 children. Almost 2,800 children used a bus while 569 children cycled. Children in the county area had the shortest journey times to primary school nationally, at 10.2 minutes. Those in the city area had the longest average journey at 14.7 minutes.
Over 20,900 secondary students (those aged 13-18 years) were travelling to school, including almost 10,000 who were driven to school in a car. Almost 400 drove themselves to school. Nearly 6,400 students were using a bus. A further 92 students in Galway were using the train. Nearly 2,500 students walked to school while 386 cycled.
There were nearly 13,300 third-level students commuting. Walking was the most popular means of travel, at almost 3,900 people. Over 3,300 third-level students drove. More than 2,400 students went to college by bus, while 621 cycled. Another 326 students travelled by train, DART or Luas. Galway City students were the most likely to walk to college, at 45%. They also had the shortest average commute at 20.9 minutes.