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Monthly Unemployment May 2024

The Monthly Unemployment rate for May 2024 was 4.0%, unchanged from the previous month

Online ISSN: 2009-8456

CSO statistical publication, 07 June 2024, 11am

Key Findings

In May 2024, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.0%, which was the same as the revised April 2024 rate. On an annual basis, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.0% in May 2024 from a revised rate of 4.2% in May 2023.
Breaking down the results by sex, the Monthly Unemployment rate in May 2024 was 3.8% for males, the same as the revised rate in April 2024 and down from 4.3% in May 2023.
The Monthly Unemployment rate in May 2024 was 4.1% for females staying the same as the revised rate in April 2024, and up from a revised rate of 4.0% in May 2023.
In terms of age, the Monthly Unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years (youth unemployment rate) fell to 7.7%, from a revised rate of 8.1% in April 2024.
The Monthly Unemployment rate for people in May 2024 aged 25-74 years did not change from the revised rate of 3.4% in April 2024.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (07 June 2024) issued Monthly Unemployment Estimates results for May 2024.

Commenting on today’s release, Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said: “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for May 2024 (for all people aged 15-74 years) was 4.0%, the same as the rate recorded in April 2024 and down from 4.2% in May 2023. In May 2024, the unemployment rate for males was 3.8%, and 4.1% for females.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 111,700 in May 2024, compared with 111,800 in April 2024. There was a decrease of 3,700 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in May 2024 when compared with a year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males stayed the same at 56,600 in May 2024, compared with April 2024. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in May 2024 also remained unchanged from April 2024 at 55,100."

Editor's Note

The methodology for the Monthly Unemployment Estimates involves forecasting the number of persons who are unemployed using the trend in the recipient Live Register series. The Department of Social Protection is providing Working Age Income supports to people arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive. The Live Register series includes recipients of these supports who have met the relevant criteria. This has impacted on the numbers of unemployed, primarily females, in these monthly estimates.

Data in this release are subject to revision based on updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added. In addition, it should be noted that larger revisions can occur when the most recent Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are included in the calculation process.

The Monthly Unemployment Estimates published today for May 2024 have incorporated the LFS benchmarks up to Q1 2024 for the monthly estimates up to March 2024. The estimates for April and May 2024 have been forecasted. Forecasted figures are subject to revision.

Headline Table and Graph

Seasonally Adjusted Monthly Unemployment
	Number of persons unemployed	Unemployment rate (%)
May 2023	115,400	4.2
April 2024	111,800	4.0
May 2024	111,700	4.0
	Number	Percentage points
Change in month	-100	0.0
Change in year	-3,700	-0.2

Open in Excel: Monthly Unemployment May 2024 Headline Table (XLS 10KB)

Tables

Table 1a Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - all persons aged 15-74 years

Table 1b Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 15-24 years

Table 1c Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 25-74 years

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Table 1a Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - All persons aged 15-74 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2022	May	59,500	53,500	113,000	4.1	4.2	4.2
	June	58,400	55,400	113,800	4.1	4.4	4.2
	July	58,900	54,900	113,800	4.1	4.4	4.2
	August	58,500	57,500	116,000	4.1	4.6	4.3
	September	58,500	56,100	114,600	4.1	4.5	4.3
	October	61,000	59,700	120,700	4.2	4.7	4.5
	November	62,400	59,200	121,700	4.3	4.6	4.5
	December	62,100	56,600	118,800	4.3	4.4	4.3

2023	January	63,200	52,900	116,100	4.3	4.1	4.2
	February	62,300	50,000	112,300	4.2	3.9	4.1
	March	62,500	49,600	112,200	4.3	3.8	4.0
	April	62,500	51,500	114,000	4.3	3.9	4.1
	May	62,800	52,600	115,400	4.3	4.0	4.2
	June	66,600	55,300	121,900	4.5	4.2	4.4
	July	66,900	55,100	122,000	4.6	4.2	4.4
	August	67,400	55,600	123,000	4.6	4.2	4.4
	September	67,900	60,100	127,900	4.6	4.5	4.6
	October	65,900	61,300	127,200	4.4	4.6	4.5
	November	63,400	61,300	124,800	4.3	4.6	4.4
	December	63,900	62,500	126,300	4.3	4.7	4.5

2024	January	64,200	63,000	127,200	4.3	4.7	4.5
	February	57,300	57,200	114,500	3.9	4.3	4.1
	March	56,600	56,000	112,600	3.8	4.2	4.0
	April	56,600	55,100	111,800	3.8	4.1	4.0
	May	56,600	55,100	111,700	3.8	4.1	4.0

Table 1b Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 15-24 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2022	May	18,900	14,300	33,200	10.5	8.4	9.5
	June	19,900	16,500	36,300	11.1	9.8	10.5
	July	19,800	17,500	37,200	11.2	10.8	11.0
	August	18,600	18,400	37,000	10.7	11.6	11.1
	September	18,500	18,500	37,000	10.7	11.6	11.1
	October	18,800	18,200	37,000	10.8	11.2	11.0
	November	19,300	18,000	37,300	11.0	10.8	10.9
	December	18,300	17,000	35,300	10.4	10.0	10.2

2023	January	17,900	16,600	34,500	10.0	9.7	9.9
	February	18,200	16,100	34,300	10.1	9.4	9.7
	March	18,900	16,400	35,300	10.5	9.5	10.0
	April	19,300	17,000	36,300	10.7	9.7	10.2
	May	18,900	17,100	36,000	10.5	9.8	10.2
	June	20,300	18,400	38,700	11.2	10.4	10.8
	July	20,400	18,600	39,000	11.2	10.5	10.9
	August	20,700	19,200	39,800	11.3	10.9	11.1
	September	21,100	21,900	43,000	11.4	12.2	11.8
	October	19,500	21,300	40,800	10.4	11.8	11.1
	November	18,800	21,300	40,100	10.0	11.7	10.8
	December	19,700	21,800	41,500	10.4	11.9	11.1

2024	January	20,800	21,600	42,400	11.0	11.8	11.4
	February	17,800	17,600	35,400	9.5	9.8	9.7
	March	16,500	15,700	32,200	9.0	8.9	8.9
	April	15,000	13,900	28,800	8.2	7.9	8.1
	May	14,300	13,000	27,300	7.8	7.5	7.7

Table 1c Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment by sex - persons aged 25-74 years
		Number of persons			Unemployment rate (%)
		Males	Females	All Persons	Males	Females	All Persons
2022	May	40,600	39,200	79,800	3.2	3.6	3.4
	June	38,500	39,000	77,400	3.1	3.6	3.3
	July	39,200	37,400	76,600	3.1	3.4	3.3
	August	39,900	39,100	79,000	3.2	3.6	3.4
	September	40,000	37,600	77,600	3.2	3.4	3.3
	October	42,200	41,500	83,700	3.3	3.8	3.5
	November	43,100	41,300	84,400	3.4	3.7	3.5
	December	43,800	39,700	83,500	3.4	3.6	3.5

2023	January	45,200	36,300	81,600	3.5	3.2	3.4
	February	44,100	33,900	78,000	3.4	3.0	3.2
	March	43,700	33,200	76,900	3.4	2.9	3.2
	April	43,200	34,500	77,700	3.4	3.0	3.2
	May	43,900	35,500	79,400	3.4	3.1	3.3
	June	46,300	36,900	83,200	3.6	3.2	3.4
	July	46,500	36,500	83,000	3.6	3.2	3.4
	August	46,800	36,400	83,200	3.6	3.2	3.4
	September	46,800	38,100	84,900	3.6	3.3	3.5
	October	46,400	40,000	86,400	3.6	3.5	3.5
	November	44,600	40,100	84,700	3.4	3.5	3.5
	December	44,200	40,700	84,900	3.4	3.5	3.5

2024	January	43,400	41,400	84,800	3.3	3.6	3.5
	February	39,500	39,600	79,100	3.1	3.4	3.2
	March	40,100	40,400	80,400	3.1	3.5	3.3
	April	41,700	41,300	82,900	3.2	3.5	3.4
	May	42,300	42,200	84,500	3.3	3.6	3.4

Monthly Unemployment May 2024