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Ireland — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Ireland, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
4.63%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -70.6% since 1991
Unemployment for Ireland was 4.63% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 15.77% in 1991. The lowest was 3.68% in 2001 (about 1.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -3.54% per year.
Ireland ranks 110 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 59%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Ireland sits below it. It peaked in 1991 and has fallen 71% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 53%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
4.63%
First (1991)
15.77%
Change
-70.6%
Highest
15.77%
in 1991
Lowest
3.68%
in 2001
Average
8.53%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-3.54%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 4.63% |
| 2024 | 4.3% |
| 2023 | 4.24% |
| 2022 | 4.47% |
| 2021 | 6.36% |
| 2020 | 5.62% |
| 2019 | 4.95% |
| 2018 | 5.74% |
| 2017 | 6.71% |
| 2016 | 8.37% |
| 2015 | 9.91% |
| 2014 | 11.86% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.