The number of people aged 15-64 who were employed in the second quarter of 2022 was 73.5 per cent, up from 68.6 per cent in the same quarter last year.
This is the highest employment rate since this data series began in 1998, said the CSO.
The number of people aged 15-89 in employment increased by 8.7 per cent, or 205,500 people, to 2.55 million in the same period.
There were 119,900 people classified as unemployed by the second quarter of the year, which is an unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent for those aged 15-74.
The construction and food services sectors saw significant employment increases in the past 12 months, said the CSO, as did scientific and technical activities and human health and social work industries.
The number of absences from work, such as temporary layoffs, family leave or holidays, during the reference week when the survey was carried out was 187,200, compared to a peak of 468,500 absences recorded in the second quarter of 2020.
The figures released today (Thursday) show that in the 12 months to the second quarter of 2022, there was a 9.4 per cent rise in the collective number of hours worked per week, from 75.9 million to a high of 83 million.
CSO statistician Sam Scriven said: “Employment increased in the year to Q2 2022 across most economic sectors, with the largest increase in the accommodation and food service (+39.2 per cent or +47,300) sector.
“However, employment in this sector at 168,200 remains below the Q2 2019 level of 180,800.
“The number of absences from work (e.g. temporary layoffs from work, family leave, or holidays) during the reference week in Q2 2022 declined by 15.3 per cent to 187,200.
“This, together with an increase of 8.7 per cent in employment, resulted in an increase of 9.4 per cent or 7.1 million more hours worked per week to a record 83.0 million hours per week in Q2 2022.
“The impact on hours worked varied across the different economic sectors. The number of hours worked in Q2 2022 per week was higher than a year ago in almost all sectors.
“The 4.8 million hours worked per week in the accommodation and food services sector, while up from Q2 2020 (1.2 million) remains below the pre-pandemic (Q2 2019) figure of 5.4 million.”
The CSO’s Labour Force Survey is a nationwide survey of households in Ireland that is designed to produce quarterly estimates, including the official measure of employment and unemployment in the state.
Mr Scriven explained how the Labour Force Survey is carried out: “Randomly selected households receive introductory letters by post giving them an option to ring the interviewer or the interviewer may call to their house to ask them to take part.
“These surveys give us a picture of the economic and social situation of the citizens of Ireland in a way, and with a level of accuracy, that no-one else can gain.”
The total sample size is 32,500 households, and the survey is carried out during a specific reference week.
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