Unemployment Rate Increases to 4.4% as Job Postings Continue to Recede

The main unemployment rate was 4.4% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, up from a revised 4.1% in March of this year and up from 4.1% in March 2023. There was an increase of 9,900 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in April 2024 compared with a year earlier.

Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, comments on the latest CSO data:

The main unemployment rate was 4.4%, up from 4.1% in March and 4.2% in February, but below the 4.5% recorded in January of this year.

While up slightly, the rate remains well below 5%, a level it has not been above since December 2021, just a month before the Government lifted all COVID-19 restrictions.

This is a remarkably strong performance by a country that is continuing to achieve steady economic growth despite a dip in the final quarter of 2023.

The latest figures show the Irish economy returned to growth in the first quarter of this year as activity in the technology sector increased. Preliminary data found gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.1 per cent in January, February and March when compared with the previous three months.

The rebound in the technology sector’s activity, while a boost to the economy, has not yet been reflected in increased job opportunities. Indeed’s data shows the number of job postings in key technology sectors such as IT operations & helpdesk, information design & documentation and software development remain in decline or flat.

Jobs postings in software development at the end of March were 41% below pre-pandemic levels recorded on February 1, 2020. The same figure for IT operations & helpdesk was 36% and it was also 36% for information design & documentation.

Indeed’s data also shows a continuing gradual decline in the level of overall job postings, which could indicate that the unemployment rate is likely to continue to rise slightly over the coming months.

Current figures, recorded on April 19th, show Irish job postings on Indeed were down to 10% above pre-pandemic levels. This is down from 12% at the end of March, 17% at the end of February and 22% in January. It is also down from a record high of 65% in February 2022.

Given the extent of positive economic data issued this week, the gradual drop in job postings recorded since the start of the year should not be a cause for any immediate concern.

The Irish Government’s recent stability programme update projected the Irish economy would grow in GDP terms by 2.6% this year and by 3.9% in 2025 as multinational exports return to previous high levels.

Rising geopolitical tensions and further energy price shocks continue to be the main risks to what is otherwise a robust outlook.