The unemployment rate in Ireland jumped to 4.7 per cent in July, marking its highest level in two-and-a half years, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
On a monthly basis, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 per cent, up from 4.5 per cent in June.
“The seasonaly adjusted number of people unemployed was 136,100 in July 2024, compared with 129,000 in June 2024,” said Conor Delves, Statistician in the CSO’s Labour Market Analysis section.
The CSO figures also revealed a year-on-year increase of 16,200 in the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed individuals for July.
While unemployment has risen steadily for five consecutive months from 4.1 per cent in February, it has remained below 5 per cent since January 2022.
Notably, youth unemployment saw a significant rise, with the rate increasing to 11.4 per cent in July from the revised 10.4 per cent in June, according to CSO data.
In the Irish context, economists consider an unemployment rate of approximately 4 per cent as close to full employment.