On March 6th, 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for February, 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 LFS is published on a quarterly basis by the CSO and provides the official employment and unemployment figures.
According to the Monthly Unemployment figures 119,300 people were unemployed in February, 2024, an increase of 6% on February, 2023. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 4.2%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points over the year. 4,200 fewer men were unemployed in February, 2024, but 10,800 more women were unemployed. The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 3.9%, but increased for women by 0.6 percentage points to 4.5%. Women accounted for 51% of the unemployed in February, 2024, a rise of 6.6 percentage points over the year.
In February, 2024, 39,600 people aged 15-24 were unemployed, 5,100 more young people than in February, 2023. Their MUR was 10.5%, 0.6 percentage points higher than a year ago. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men increased by 2% to 18,800, and their unemployment rate was 9.9%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points over the year. Unemployment amongst young women increased by 29% to 20,700, and their unemployment rate rose by 1.7 percentage points to 11.1%. In February, 2024, women accounted for 52% of those unemployed in this age category, a rise of 5.6 percentage points over the year.
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74 was 79,800, in February, 2024, a 2 percentage points increase over the year. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 3.2% in February of both years. In this age category unemployment decreased for men by 11% to 39,500, and their MUR decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 3%. Unemployment increased for women by 18% to 40,200 women and their Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) rose by 0.5 percentage points to 3.5%. Women accounted for 50.4% of those unemployed in this age category in February, 2024, an increase of 6.8 percentage points over the year.