The unemployment rate hit a record low of 3.8% in May, falling from the previous record of 3.9% set in April 2001, new figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics show today.
Unemployment was 4.2% in the same month last year.
The Central Statistics Office said the unemployment rate for men was 4.1% in May and 3.4% for women, reports RTE.
The youth unemployment rate fell to 6.9% in May, compared with a revised rate of 7.7% in April.
Today’s figures show that the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed was 103,300 in May, up from 106,500 in April.
They also show a year-on-year decrease in the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed in May by 8,700.
The number of seasonally adjusted unemployed men fell to 60,000 in May from 61,200 in April, reports RTE.
Referring to today’s numbers, Jack Kennedy, chief economist for the Jobs Platform, said the unemployment rate was last seen at 3.9% between October 2000 and April 2001 – at the peak of the Celtic Tiger.
“Any rate below 4% signals that the country is at “full employment”. The rate of unemployment has never been recorded at less than 3.9% before,” the economist said, reports RTE.
“Recent Indeed data shows that some jobs in engineering and construction are particularly difficult to fill right now,” he added, reports RTE.
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