LFS estimates were updated on 22nd Feb 2024 to incorporate updated population estimates for the period 2016 Q3 to 2023 Q3, based on the results of Census 2022. LFS results are updated in this way following each Census of Population. For further information see Background Notes.
The data in this publication does not reflect these updates. Please refer to the relevant tables on LFS Px-stat for updated LFS estimates.
The background notes at the end of this release contain the definitions for respondents to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) to be classified as employed, unemployed or inactive based on the ILO criteria. Respondents in the LFS are first asked a suite of questions to check if they were Employed. If a person is not classified as Employed, they are asked a suite of questions to determine if they should be classified as Unemployed. The criteria are as follows:
Persons aged 15 years or over are classified as not being in the Labour Force (Inactive) if they do not satisfy the ILO criteria for being classified as being Employed or Unemployed.
Unlike previous downturns, the COVID-19 Pandemic has had a peculiar effect on the Labour Market in Ireland. This is because displaced workers during COVID-19 lockdown were more likely to be classified as Inactive rather than Unemployed as the majority, although available to start work, had not been seeking work in the previous 4 weeks. Thus, they failed to meet the criteria to be classified as Unemployed.
The Potential Additional Labour Force (PALF) is the sum of the two groups ‘Seeking work but not immediately available’ and ‘Available for work but not seeking work’. Persons in the PALF are not part of the standard labour force, which encompasses only Employed and Unemployed people but however they have a stronger attachment to the labour market than other persons not in the labour force. Persons ‘Available for work but not seeking work’ accounted for the majority of the PALF in Quarter 4 of 2019 to 2021.
The number of persons in employment increased by 229,100 in the year to Q4 2021 reflecting the continued easing of Public Health restrictions in that quarter. This was accompanied by a fall of 14,400 in the number of persons unemployed and a fall of 161,300 in the number of persons outside of the labour force. This meant that persons re-entering the labour market in Q4 2021 were far more likely to have found a job rather than being classified as unemployed.
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | |
| Available for work but not seeking work | 90 | 162.8 | 88.4 |
| Seeking work but not immediately available | 13.5 | 10.3 | 10.9 |
Persons may also want to work but are unable to do so for a number of reasons and Figure 8.2 shows the breakdown of this category for Quarter 4 of 2019 through to Q4 2021
| Q4 2021 | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | |
| Other reasons | 14.4 | 13.9 | 7.7 |
| Care responsibilities/personal family reasons | 25.6 | 22.3 | 29.3 |
| Own illness or disability | 40.3 | 35.8 | 34.4 |
| Education or training | 19.6 | 28.1 | 28.5 |
Of those who stated that they wanted to work but were not seeking work or available for work in Q4 2021, 19.6% said this was due to education or training. This compares to 28.1% a year earlier and 28.5% in Q4 2019. Persons with own illness or disability accounted for 40.3% of the total in Q4 2021 and this was more than the 35.8% and 34.4% recorded in both Q4 2020 and Q4 2019 respectively. Persons who had care responsibilities or personal family reasons accounted for 25.6% in Q4 2021 and this was up from the 22.3% recorded a year earlier and down from the 29.3% in Q4 2019.
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