On the 5th November, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for October 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, 147,400 people were unemployed in October 2025, an increase of 22.2% on October 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) is 5.0%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points (ppts).
The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men increased by 0.6 percentage points to 5.0%, and for women it increased by 1.0 ppts to 5.0%. Of the 147,400 unemployed, 47.4%, or 69,900 are women.
Young People
In October 2025, 48,400 people aged 15-24yrs were unemployed, 8,900 more young people than in October 2024, a 15% total increase. This age group accounts for 32.9% of all unemployed people. Their MUR is 13.4%, a 2.5 percentage point increase in one year. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men has increased by 1.8 percentage points; their MUR has increased to 13.0%. Unemployment amongst young women increased by 2.5 percentage points while their unemployment rate is 13.9%. In October 2025, women accounted for 49.0% of those unemployed in this age category.
People Aged 25-74yrs
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74yrs was 99,000 in October 2025, an increase of 22.1% since October 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) was 3.8% in October 2025, an increase of 0.6 percentage points over the year. In this age category unemployment has increased for men by 0.5 percentage points since October 2024 to 3.9%. Unemployment rates for women increased by 0.8 ppts to 3.8%. Women accounted for 46.7% of those unemployed in this age category in October 2025.