Irish unemployment remains near historic low of 4.8%

Unemployment in Ireland remained below 5 per cent in October amid reports that hiring had strengthened again.The Central Statistics Office’s (CSO) said the national rate joblessness stood at 4.8 per cent last month, up from a revised rate of 4.7 per cent in September.The seasonally adjusted number of people classified as being unemployed was 143,600 in October, a rise of 5,900 when compared with October 2025.The youth unemployment rate was 11.5 per cent, up from a revised rate of 11.4 per cent in September.READ MOREKate English, chief economist at Deloitte Ireland, said unemployment here has been at 5 per cent or lower since December 2021 (with the exception of 5.1 per cent in March 2026), which she described as “positive”. “A 5 per cent rate signals resilience and near full employment,” English said. “The Q3 labour force figures expected in two weeks will be important, as these will capture the number of jobs being added to the economy and the official unemployment rate,” she said.“Labour market data has delivered a slightly mixed picture with respect to growth in 2026. However, the slowdown in the volume of new jobs being added is clear,” English said.“While employment growth has softened, there remain clear skills shortages across some parts of the economy, such as in construction,” she said.Despite the slowdown in employment growth, recruitment company Indeed noted that its Irish job postings index had “strengthened”. “Job postings, a real-time measure of employer demand, stood at 4.1 per cent above their pre-pandemic baseline as of October 23rd of this year compared with 1.9 per cent below baseline at the end of September,” Indeed economist Jack Kennedy said.“The return of job postings to above their pre-pandemic level is an encouraging indication that employers continue to recruit after hiring demand stabilised earlier this year,” he said.