On April 4th, 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for March, 2024. The Monthly Unemployment figures are estimated using trends in the Live Register figures based on data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), and are subject to revision. The LFS is published on a quarterly basis by the CSO and provides the official employment and unemployment figures.
According to the Monthly Unemployment figures 122,100 people were unemployed in March, 2024, an increase of 8% on March, 2023. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 4.3%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the year. 3,500 fewer men were unemployed in March, 2024, but 12,900 more women were unemployed. The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4%, but increased for women by 0.8 percentage points to 4.6%. Women accounted for 52% of the unemployed in March, 2024, a rise of 7 percentage points over the year.
In March, 2024, 39,700 people aged 15-24 were unemployed, 4,600 more young people than in March, 2023. Their MUR was 10.5%, 0.5 percentage points higher than a year ago. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men increased by 1.6% to 19,300, and their unemployment rate was 10.1%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points over the year. Unemployment amongst young women increased by 27% to 20,400, and their unemployment rate rose by 1.5 percentage points to 10.9%. In March, 2024, women accounted for 51% of those unemployed in this age category, a rise of 5.5 percentage points over the year.
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74 was 82,400, in March, 2024, a 6% increase over the year. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 3.3% in March 2024, an increase of 0.1 percentage point. In this age category unemployment decreased for men by 9% to 39,800, and their MUR decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 3.1%. Unemployment increased for women by 25% to 42,600 women and their Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) rose by 0.6 percentage points to 3.6%. Women accounted for 52% of those unemployed in this age category in March, 2024, an increase of 8 percentage points over the year.