On the 8th of January, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for December 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 Labour Force Survey is published on a quarterly basis by the CSO and provides the official employment and unemployment figures.
According to the latest Monthly Unemployment figures, 121,700 people were unemployed in December 2024, a decrease of 3% on December 2023. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 4.2%, 0.3 percentage points lower than a year ago. The sum of the decrease isn’t equal for both men and women, however; 1,200 more men are unemployed compared to December 2023, while there are 4,800 less women unemployed.
The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.2% and for women by 0.4 percentage points to 4.2%. Women accounted for 47% of the unemployed in December 2024.
Young People – An Overall Increase in Unemployment
In December 2024, 45,400 people aged 15-24 were unemployed, 4,900 more young people than in December 2023, a 12% total increase. This age group is 37% of all unemployed people. Their MUR is 11.6%, a 0.6% increase in one year. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men has increased by 1.3 percentage points; the MUR has increased to 11.8%. Unemployment amongst young women increased to 21,600, while their unemployment rate is 11.4%. In December 2024, women accounted for 48% of those unemployed in this age category.
People Aged 25-74yrs
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74yrs was 76,200 in December 2024, a drop of 10.5% since December 2023. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 3% in December 2024, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points over the year. In this age category unemployment has decreased for men by 7.5% to 40,700, while their MUR declined by 0.3 percentage points to 3.1%. Unemployment decreased for women by 13.8% to 35,500 women and their Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) declined by 0.6 percentage points to 3%. Women accounted for 47% of those unemployed in this age category in December 2024.