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Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2020

Labour Market Status

Education level and the labour force - employment rates increase with education level

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Employment rates for those aged 25-64 years old increased as the level of education attained increased and this relationship is stronger for females than for males. In Q2 2020, females aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification were over three times more likely to be employed (80%) compared to females with a primary education or no formal education (24%). On the other hand, males aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification were twice as likely to be employed (88%) than those with a primary education or no formal education (44%). See Table 2.1 and Figure 2.1.

Table 2.1 Employment rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020

	Male	Female	Total
Primary or below	44	24	36
Lower secondary	69	42	58
Higher secondary	78	55	66
Post leaving cert.	83	62	72
Third level	88	80	83

Unemployment rates for those aged 25-64 years old generally decreased as the level of education attained increased. In Q2 2020, males aged 25-64 years old with a primary education or below were more than twice as likely to be unemployed (10%) compared to males with a third level qualification (4%). The corresponding values for females in Q2 2020 were 6% and 2% respectively. See Table 2.2 and Figure 2.2.

Table 2.2 Unemployment rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020

	Male	Female	Total
Primary or below	10	6	9
Lower secondary	5	2	4
Higher secondary	5	5	5
Post leaving cert.	5	6	5
Third level	4	2	3

The labour force participation rate is the number of persons in the labour force expressed as a percentage of the total population. In Q2 2020, females aged 25-64 years old with a third level qualification were over three times as likely to be in the labour force (82%) compared to females with a primary education or below (25%). The corresponding values for males in Q2 2020 were 91% and 49% respectively. See Table 2.3.

Table 2.3 Labour force participation rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and the highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020

Early school leavers – around two-thirds are not economically active

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Just under two thirds (65%) of early school leavers aged 18-24 were not economically active compared to 45% of other persons aged 18-24 in Q2 2020. Between Q2 2019 and Q2 2020, the proportion of All persons aged 18-24 that were not economically active increased from 36% to 47%. Just under one in four (23%) early school leavers were employed in Q2 2020, with 12% unemployed. Early school leavers had a much lower rate of employment in Q2 2020 compared with other persons aged 18-24 (23% compared to 47%). The unemployment rate for early school leavers was one and a half times that for other persons aged 18-24 (12% compared to 8%). See Table 2.4.

Table 2.4 Percentage of early school leavers and other persons aged 18-24 classified by labour market status, Q2 2010 - Q2 2020

Employment Rates – adjusted and unadjusted for 15-74 year olds

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It is likely that unemployment rates for the cohorts discussed in this chapter would be higher if the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment was applied. Using the standard ILO (International Labour Office) criteria, the unadjusted number of persons aged 15-74 years who were unemployed in Q2 2020 stood at 118,700 with an associated Unemployment Rate of 5.1% for those aged 15-74 years. At the end of June 2020, the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment, or the upper bound of the number of persons aged 15-74 years who were unemployed, was 531,412, with an associated COVID-19 Adjusted Unemployment Rate of 23.1% for those aged 15-74 years. See the Labour Force Survey (LFS) Quarter 2 2020.

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Table 2.1 Employment rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020
% of persons
Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	2017	2018	2019	2020
Male employment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	42	44	51	44
Lower Secondary	3	70	73	71	69
Higher Secondary	4/5	79	81	82	78
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	82	83	87	83
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	89	90	91	88
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	82	91	83	79
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	86	88	87	82
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	90	90	91	90
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	91	91	94	90
Total male employment rate		80	82	83	81

Female employment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	24	26	26	24
Lower Secondary	3	39	41	41	42
Higher Secondary	4/5	58	61	63	55
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	64	68	67	62
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	81	82	82	80
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	74	67	71	68
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	75	76	78	75
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	81	83	82	79
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	85	86	85	85
Total female employment rate		67	69	69	67

All persons employment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	34	35	40	36
Lower Secondary	3	57	61	58	58
Higher Secondary	4/5	69	71	73	66
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	73	76	77	72
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	84	85	86	83
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	78	77	75	73
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	80	81	82	79
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	85	86	86	84
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	87	88	89	87
Total persons employment rate		74	75	76	74
¹ National Framework of Qualifications

Table 2.2 Unemployment rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020
% of persons
Highest level of education attained	NFQ ¹	2017	2018	2019	2020
Male unemployment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	15	15	8	10
Lower Secondary	3	11	7	7	5
Higher Secondary	4/5	7	5	5	5
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	6	6	5	5
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	4	4	2	4
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	8	0	7	3
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	5	4	3	6
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	3	4	3	3
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	3	3	1	3
Total male unemployment rate		6	5	4	4

Female unemployment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	11	11	2	6
Lower Secondary	3	9	8	7	2
Higher Secondary	4/5	6	6	5	5
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	9	6	7	6
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	3	4	3	2
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	5	9	3	3
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	3	5	4	3
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	3	4	3	2
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	3	3	3	3
Total female unemployment rate		5	5	4	3

All persons unemployment rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	14	14	6	9
Lower Secondary	3	10	7	7	4
Higher Secondary	4/5	7	5	5	5
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	7	6	5	5
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	3	4	3	3
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	7	5	5	3
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	4	4	4	4
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	3	4	3	2
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	3	3	2	3
Total unemployment rate		6	5	4	4
¹ National Framework of Qualifications

Table 2.3 Labour force participation rates of persons aged 25-64, classified by sex and the highest level of education attained, Q2 2017 - Q2 2020
% of persons
Highest level of education attained	NFQ¹	2017	2018	2019	2020
Male participation rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	49	51	55	49
Lower Secondary	3	79	78	76	73
Higher Secondary	4/5	85	86	86	81
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	87	88	91	87
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	92	93	93	91
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	89	91	89	82
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	91	91	90	87
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	93	94	93	92
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	94	94	95	93
Total male participation rate		86	86	87	84

Female participation rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	27	29	27	25
Lower Secondary	3	42	45	44	43
Higher Secondary	4/5	62	65	67	58
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	71	72	71	66
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	83	85	84	82
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	77	74	73	70
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	78	80	81	77
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	84	86	84	81
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	87	89	88	87
Total female participation rate		71	73	72	70

All persons participation rate
Primary or below	None/1/2	40	41	42	39
Lower Secondary	3	64	65	63	60
Higher Secondary	4/5	74	75	77	70
Post Leaving Certificate	4/5/6	79	80	81	76
Third Level, of which:	6/7/8/9/10	87	89	88	86
Higher Certificate or equivalent	6	83	81	79	75
Ordinary Degree or equivalent	7	84	85	85	82
Honours bachelor degree or equivalent	8	88	90	88	86
Postgraduate qualification	9/10	90	91	91	90
Total participation rate		78	79	79	77
¹ National Framework of Qualifications

Table 2.4 Percentage of early school leavers¹ and other persons aged 18-24 classified by labour market status, Q2 2010 - Q2 2020
% of persons
	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Early school leaver
Employed	41	31	30	35	31	29	43	34	28	27	23
Unemployed	37	42	43	39	33	40	23	24	18	25	12
In labour force	78	73	74	74	64	69	66	57	46	53	35
Inactive	22	27	26	26	36	31	34	43	54	47	65

Other persons aged 18-24
Employed	52	50	48	50	49	52	57	56	56	56	47
Unemployed	18	17	20	18	15	12	12	9	9	8	8
In labour force	70	68	68	68	64	64	69	65	65	64	55
Inactive	30	32	32	32	36	36	31	35	35	36	45

All persons aged 18-24
Employed	51	48	46	49	48	51	57	55	55	54	45
Unemployed	20	20	22	20	16	13	12	10	9	9	8
In labour force	71	68	68	68	64	64	69	65	64	64	53
Inactive	29	32	32	32	36	36	31	35	36	36	47
¹ See background notes for definition of an early school leaver and labour market (ILO employment) status.

Educational Attainment Thematic Report 2020

Labour Market Status

Education level and the labour force - employment rates increase with education level

Early school leavers – around two-thirds are not economically active

Employment Rates – adjusted and unadjusted for 15-74 year olds

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