The number of people in employment in Ireland in Q2 2018 increased by 3.4% in the year to June 2018 . The total in employment stands at 2,255,000. The Central Statistics Office say there are just 144,300 unemployed and that 1,448,900 are not in the labour force.
The employment rate in Ireland is 67.9% – for comparison . The employment rate in the EU-28 is 67.8%. (Q1 2018)
According to the government – this is the highest level of employment ever within the State. The biggest job increases were in construction and accommodation and food.
There have now been 24 consecutive quarters of employment growth and unemployment continues to fall, with the unemployment rate reaching 5.9 per cent in July 2018. The unadjusted unemployment rate among the EU-28 countries in the first quarter of 2018 was 7.4%, while the comparable rate in Ireland was 5.7%
Long term unemployed in Ireland make up 34% of the total unemployed.
But – there is still high youth unemployment rate, which is at 15.4 per cent.
The total population of Ireland stood at 4.857 million in July 2018