October unemployment rate steady at 4.4% – CSO
The unemployment rate stood at 4.4% in October, unchanged for the third month in a row after the August and September figures were both revised up from 4.3%, the latest Central Statistics Office figures show today.
The jobless rate has inched up since hitting a 21-year low of 4.2% in May and June.
The CSO noted that rate of 4.4% in October was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.8% recorded in October 2019 while it was also down from a level of 5.3% the same time last year.
The unemployment rate for men stood at 4.3% in October and at 4.6% for women.
Today’s figures show that the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood at 117,500 in October, compared with 115,500 in September.
But there was a decrease of 20,400 in the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed in October 2022 when compared with a year earlier, the CSO added.
Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate eased to 12% from a revised rate of 12.2% in September, the CSO said.
In its latest Quarterly Economic Outlook released today, Ibec said it expects unemployment to average 4.7% for 2022, and to come in at 4.3% on average in 2023 on the back of ongoing employment growth.
Jack Kennedy, economist at global job site Indeed, noted that the job posting recovery for Dublin continues to lag the rest of Ireland. At 34% above the pre-pandemic baseline, Dublin continues to underperform the rest of Ireland.
Mr Kennedy said this trend is similar to many large urban areas.
“Commuter footfall in Dublin remains down on pre-pandemic levels which is weighing on local services that rely on their spending. This is coupled with changes in the labour marketplace where a desire for better work-life balance has led to a reduction in commuting and other spending associated with working from the office,” he explained.
But despite a slowdown in Dublin, the economist said there is continued strength in many job categories across the labour market and in the rest of Ireland.
“The shape of the labour market has altered as essential sectors like healthcare, cleaning and sanitation and sectors linked to online retail & distribution have grown,” he added.
Article Source: October unemployment rate steady at 4.4% – CSO – RTE
