Increased employment levels resulted in 4.3 million extra hours worked per week (+6.0%) in Q3 2021 compared to Q3 2020, according to the new CSO Labour Force Survey.

The number of hours worked per week is up to 77.1 million hours per week, a slight increase from 77.0 million hours per week in pre-pandemic Q3 2019. 

Employment also increased by 9.8% to 2,471,200 in the year to Q3 2021 and 221,300 jobs created.

Employment now stands at 2.47 million, almost a 10 percent increase on the same quarter in 2020.

There were 149,100 classified as unemployed in Q3 2021 with an associated unemployment rate of 5.7% for those aged 15-74.

Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe said this morning:“Today’s data show that the total number of people in work during the summer was 150,000 higher than in the corresponding period two years ago."

CSO statistician Jim Dalton, said: “Employment increased across all sectors with the largest rates of increase in the accommodation and food service (+28.7% or +39,400) sector and in the professional, scientific and technical activities (+17.3 or +24,300) sector.

“The employment rate for those aged 15-64 years was 72.2% in Q3 2021.”

The number of hours worked per week were higher than a year ago in almost all sectors in Q3 2021 and were approaching Q3 2019 levels in most sectors.

Hospitality sector

The hours worked per week in the accommodation and food services sector, while still below Q3 2019 levels, increased by 1.2 million hours per week (+32.4%) over the year to Q3 2021.

In Q3 2021, using standard methodology, the total number in the labour force was up 7.9% or 191,100 to 2,620,300 from Q3 2020.

“The number not in the labour force was 1,407,700 and that was down 9.5% or 147,100 from a year earlier,” Jim Dalton said.