On the 6th June, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for May 2025. 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 Labour Force Survey is published on a quarterly basis by the CSO and provides the official employment and unemployment figures.
According to the latest Monthly Unemployment figures (seasonally adjusted), 118,600 people are unemployed in May 2025, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points (ppts) on May 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) is 4.0%, 0.4 percentage points lower than a year ago.
The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 3.9%, and for women by 0.3 percentage points to 4.1%. Of the 118,600 unemployed, 49%, or 58,200 are women.
Young People – number of young women in unemployment continues to increase
In May 2025, 40,000 people aged 15-24yrs are unemployed, 3,400 more young people than in May 2024, a 9.3% total increase. This age group accounts for 33.7% of all unemployed people. Their MUR is 10.9%, a 0.9 percentage point increase in one year. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men has decreased by 0.2 percentage points; their MUR has decreased to 10.4%. Unemployment amongst young women increased by 2.1 percentage points while their unemployment rate is 11.5%. In May 2025, women account for 50.2% of those unemployed in this age category.
People Aged 25-74yrs
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74yrs is 78,600 in May 2025, a drop of 11.7% since May 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) is 3.1% in May 2025, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points over the year. In this age category unemployment has decreased for men by 0.5 percentage points since May 2024 to 3.0%. Unemployment rates for women decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 3.1%. Women account for 48.5% of those unemployed in this age category in May 2025.