Ireland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in August 2026, matching the rate in the previous month and slightly exceeding the 4.9% recorded a year earlier. The total number of unemployed people decreased by 1,200 from the previous month but increased by 1,900 from a year earlier, reaching 147,100. By gender, the unemployment rate for females edged down to 5.1% from 5.2% in July, with the number of unemployed women falling by 1,300 to 72,500. For males, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8%, with the number of unemployed men inching up by 100 to 74,600. Meanwhile, youth unemployment among those aged 15–24 ticked down to 12.3% in August from 12.4% in July, while the rate for those aged 25–74 also dropped to 3.9% from 4.0%. source: Central Statistics Office Ireland

Unemployment Rate in Ireland remained unchanged at 5 percent in August. Unemployment Rate in Ireland averaged 9.80 percent from 1983 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 17.30 percent in December of 1985 and a record low of 3.90 percent in October of 2000. This page provides the latest reported value for - Ireland Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Ireland Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2026.

Unemployment Rate in Ireland remained unchanged at 5 percent in August. Unemployment Rate in Ireland is expected to be 5.10 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Ireland Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 5.00 percent in 2027 and 4.90 percent in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-08-06 10:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
Jul 5.1% 5% 5.1%
2026-09-02 10:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
Aug 5.0% 5.0% 5.1%
2026-09-30 10:00 AM
Unemployment Rate
Sep 5.0% 5.10%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Average Hourly Earnings 31.96 32.93 EUR Jun 2026
Average Weekly Hours 32.80 32.30 Hours Jun 2026
Employed Persons 2839.30 2794.50 Thousand Jun 2026
Employment Rate 74.30 73.30 percent Jun 2026
Full Time Employment 2249.60 2233.00 Thousand Jun 2026
Initial Jobless Claims 25248.00 16511.00 Persons Jul 2026
Job Vacancy Rate 1.10 1.20 percent Mar 2026
Labor Force Participation Rate 66.00 65.00 percent Jun 2026
Part Time Employment 589.60 561.50 Thousand Jun 2026
Unemployed Persons 147.10 148.30 Thousand Aug 2026
Unemployment Change 2800.00 1000.00 Persons Jul 2026
Unemployment Rate 5.00 5.00 percent Aug 2026
Average Weekly Earnings YoY 3.90 3.40 percent Jun 2026
Wages 1046.88 1064.59 EUR/Week Jun 2026
Wages in Manufacturing 1165.43 1247.00 EUR/Week Jun 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate 12.30 12.40 percent Aug 2026


Ireland Unemployment Rate
In Ireland, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
5.00 5.00 17.30 3.90 1983 - 2026 percent Monthly
SA

News Stream
Ireland Jobless Rate Holds at 5%
Ireland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in August 2026, matching the rate in the previous month and slightly exceeding the 4.9% recorded a year earlier. The total number of unemployed people decreased by 1,200 from the previous month but increased by 1,900 from a year earlier, reaching 147,100. By gender, the unemployment rate for females edged down to 5.1% from 5.2% in July, with the number of unemployed women falling by 1,300 to 72,500. For males, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.8%, with the number of unemployed men inching up by 100 to 74,600. Meanwhile, youth unemployment among those aged 15–24 ticked down to 12.3% in August from 12.4% in July, while the rate for those aged 25–74 also dropped to 3.9% from 4.0%.
2026-09-02
Irish Jobless Rate Highest Since 2021
Ireland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.1% in July 2026 from 5.0% in the previous month and was also slightly higher than the 5.0% recorded a year earlier, marking the highest reading since December 2021. The total number of unemployed people increased by 2,800 from the previous month and by 2,600 from a year earlier, reaching 149,900. By gender, the unemployment rate for females edged up to 5.3% from 5.2% in June, with the number of unemployed women rising by 1,800 to 74,300. For males, the jobless rate also ticked up to 4.9% from 4.8%, while the number of unemployed men increased by 1,100 to 75,600. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) climbed to 12.3% from 11.8% in June, while the rate for those aged 25–74 edged up to 4.1% from 4.0% over the last three months.
2026-08-06
Irish Jobless Rate at 3-Month High
Ireland’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in June 2026 from a revised 4.9% in the previous month and was up from 4.6% a year earlier, marking the highest rate since March. The total number of unemployed people increased by 3,100 to 145,100. By gender, the unemployment rate for females edged up to 5.4% from 5.3% in May, with the number of unemployed women increasing by 900 to 73,800. For males, the rate also ticked up to 4.6% from 4.5%, with unemployment rising by 2,200 to 71,200. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate (ages 15–24) rose to 10.8% from 9.9% in May, while for those aged 25–74, the rate stood at 4.2%.
2026-07-06