On the 7th January, 2026, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the Monthly Unemployment (MU) figures for December 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, 148,700 people are unemployed in December 2025, an increase of 15.3% on December 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) is 5.0%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points (ppts).
The Monthly Unemployment Rate for men increased by 0.3 percentage points to 5.1%, and for women it increased by 0.8 ppts to 4.9%. Of the 148,700 unemployed, 46.5%, or 69,100, are women.
Young People
In December 2025, 50,700 people aged 15-24yrs are unemployed, 7,900 more young people than in December 2024, a 18.5% total increase. This age group accounts for 34.1% of all unemployed people. Their MUR is 14.0%, a 2.2 percentage point increase in one year. Over the year, unemployment amongst young men has increased by 1.2 percentage points; their MUR has increased to 13.5%. Unemployment amongst young women increased by 3.2 percentage points while their unemployment rate is 14.6%. In December 2025, women account for 49.1% of those unemployed in this age category.
People Aged 25-74yrs
The Monthly Unemployment figure for people aged 25-74yrs is 98,000 in December 2025, an increase of 12.0% since December 2024. The Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR) is 3.8% in December 2025, an increase of 0.4 percentage points over the year. In this age category unemployment has increased for men by 0.3 percentage points since December 2024 to 4.0%. Unemployment rates for women increased by 0.5 ppts to 3.6%. Women account for 45.1% of those unemployed in this age category in December 2025.