News Headlines | Increase in unemployment amid drop in tech jobs - CSO
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In the first quarter of 2026 the Central Statistics Office reported that Ireland’s labour force grew by 18,000 people (0.6%) to 2,936,300 – the smallest annual rise in five years – while unemployment jumped 17,600 (about 14%) to 141,800, putting the unemployment rate at 4.9%. The sharpest job losses occurred in the information‑and‑communication sector, which shed 20,300 workers (‑10.7%) largely due to a 16,200‑person drop in computer programming and consultancy roles, and long‑term unemployment rose to 41,300, up 15,500 from a year earlier. Overall employment edged up by just 400 to 2,794,500 but fell quarter‑on‑quarter from 2,833,100, and total weekly hours worked slipped 0.2% to an estimated 86.3 million, with the biggest hour reductions in professional, scientific & technical activities (‑800,000 hrs) and information & communication (‑700,000 hrs). Additionally, the number of people working from home fell by 44,800 (‑4.3%) to 990,100, while those never working from home rose by 46,600 (‑2.7%) to 1,796,200, surpassing pre‑pandemic levels for the first time.
Read more: https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0521/1574502-cso-labour-survey-q1/
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