Up for women, down for men
In September 2026, 4.3% of women aged 25 to 74 in Ireland’s labour force were unemployed, against 3.8% a year earlier. For men of the same age the rate eased from 3.9% to 3.7%. The figures are the Central Statistics Office’s monthly estimates, published on 30 September 2026.
In numbers, 53,000 women aged 25 to 74 were unemployed, 6,600 more than a year earlier, and 50,900 men, 1,600 fewer. Across everyone aged 15 to 74, unemployment rose by 5,800 to 149,500, and all of the rise was among women: men’s unemployment was unchanged at 76,700.
Among under-25s it ran the other way: unemployed young men rose from 24,200 to 25,800, young women fell from 20,500 to 19,800. Among adults, women’s rate has been at least 0.6 points above men’s every month since February 2026; before this year, the last month with a gap that wide was September 2020.
| Group | Sep 2025 | Sep 2026 | Change | Rate, 2025 | Rate, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyone, 15 to 74 | 143,700 | 149,500 | +5,800 | 4.9% | 5.0% |
| Women, 15 to 74 | 67,000 | 72,800 | +5,800 | 4.8% | 5.2% |
| Men, 15 to 74 | 76,700 | 76,700 | 0 | 4.9% | 4.9% |
| Women, 25 to 74 | 46,400 | 53,000 | +6,600 | 3.8% | 4.3% |
| Men, 25 to 74 | 52,500 | 50,900 | -1,600 | 3.9% | 3.7% |
| Women, 15 to 24 | 20,500 | 19,800 | -700 | 11.8% | 11.3% |
| Men, 15 to 24 | 24,200 | 25,800 | +1,600 | 12.6% | 13.7% |
What the figures count
Unemployment here follows the ILO definition: without work, available to start and looking. It is measured by the Labour Force Survey, not by the Live Register, which counts people signing on for benefits and is a different figure.
The rate divides the unemployed by the labour force, everyone in work plus everyone unemployed. So the rate can rise because more people start looking for work, not only because fewer people have a job.
The monthly estimates are provisional. The Central Statistics Office revises them when each quarter’s survey results arrive; the survey itself, below, is the firmer measure.
- THE MEASURE: unemployed under the ILO definition, people without work who are available to start within two weeks and have looked for work in the past four weeks. It is not the Live Register, which counts people signing on for benefits.
- THE RATE: unemployed people as a share of the labour force, which is everyone in work plus everyone unemployed. People who are not looking for work are in neither.
- TWO SERIES: the monthly estimates are seasonally adjusted and provisional; the quarterly Labour Force Survey is not seasonally adjusted, so each quarter is compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
So 6,600 more unemployed women does not say that 6,600 women lost their jobs: it says that 6,600 more women were without work, available and looking, at a time when, in the second quarter, more women were also in work.
One measure, one rate and two series, and a reading that forgets any of them says what the source does not.
The survey shows the same, and more women in work
Between the second quarters of 2025 and 2026, the number of unemployed women aged 25 to 74 rose from 40,300 to 52,000, a rate of 3.3% and then 4.2%. Unemployed men of the same age went from 51,000 to 50,100, 3.8% and then 3.7%.
Women’s employment rose too, by 9,600, but the number of women in the labour force rose by 21,300. More women were in work and more were looking. The first quarter was weaker: women’s employment was 11,400 lower than a year before, and 54,800 women were unemployed, against 41,000.
The survey is a sample, and the Central Statistics Office publishes no margin of error for these cells. What makes the rise hard to dismiss is that it holds in both quarters of 2026 and in every monthly estimate since January.
| Quarter | Labour force | In work | Unemployed | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women, Q1 2025 | 1,211,100 | 1,170,100 | 41,000 | 3.4% |
| Women, Q2 2025 | 1,205,400 | 1,165,100 | 40,300 | 3.3% |
| Women, Q1 2026 | 1,213,400 | 1,158,700 | 54,800 | 4.5% |
| Women, Q2 2026 | 1,226,700 | 1,174,700 | 52,000 | 4.2% |
| Men, Q1 2025 | 1,339,800 | 1,289,700 | 50,100 | 3.7% |
| Men, Q2 2025 | 1,358,300 | 1,307,300 | 51,000 | 3.8% |
| Men, Q1 2026 | 1,363,200 | 1,310,500 | 52,700 | 3.9% |
| Men, Q2 2026 | 1,371,300 | 1,321,100 | 50,100 | 3.7% |
What these figures do not say
They do not say why. Nothing here measures childcare, the cost of living, the sectors women work in or any policy, and no cause is assessed.
They do not say that women lost jobs: in the second quarter, more women were in work than a year earlier. They say nothing about pay, hours or the Live Register.
They do not say which women aged 25 to 74 are unemployed, by age, region or occupation, and none of this is a forecast. The monthly estimates are provisional and can be revised.
