Unemployment stalls in September, youth unemployment trends remain a concern
The rate of unemployment reflects the challenging macro-economic backdrop the economy is facing
Print11 October 2022
The main unemployment rate was 4.3% in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, unchanged from 4.3% in August and down from a level of 5.2% twelve months ago. The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was virtually unchanged in September and fell by 18,500 in the past 12 months.
Pawel Adrjan, economist at global job site Indeed, said the stalled unemployment figure is a cause for concern: “The rate of unemployment stalled in September reflecting the more challenging macro-economic backdrop the economy is facing with cost-of-living pressures, higher energy prices and the continuing war in Ukraine.
“It comes as the latest Eurostat figures show that the annual pace of Irish inflation at 8.6% in September, and the government’s recent €11 billion Budget package firmly aimed at helping Irish household deal with the pressure of rising costs.”
Adrjan continued: “In its latest quarterly bulletin, the Central Bank today remained positive about the outlook for employment despite cost pressures, although it forecasts the rate of unemployment moving slightly higher to 5.1% next year. Whilst the CBI is forecasting further wage growth next year, it expects the pace of price inflation will mean workers’ pay packets will be lower in real terms.
“In Ireland’s competitive jobs market, with high levels of labour market participation, an area of potential concern is the youth unemployment rate. For those aged 15 to 24 years the rate rose to 12.4%, from a low of 8.2% in February 2022, and up from a level of 10.7% twelve months ago.”
Image via Indeed
According to Adrjan, this segment is an important area for “the government to focus on for training, education and reskilling. Equipping people with appropriate skills in segments of the economy experiencing labour shortages increases the prospects of getting the younger unemployed active in the labour market in the future.
“Graduate jobs continue to provide strong opportunities for the younger age cohorts, and Indeed’s data continues to show employers very actively hiring, with the level of Irish job postings on Indeed up 56% at 30 September 2022, compared to 1 February 2020 (Fig 1), though down from their peak of 65% reached in mid-February 2022 before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Despite the worsening economic outlook, continued low unemployment and elevated level of job postings mean that opportunities abound for jobseekers, while employers continue to face a challenging hiring environment.”
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