Unemployment was stable at 4.6% in February, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
The rate of unemployment was unchanged from the revised January 2026 rate and has increased from 4.4% a year ago.
There were 137,500 people counted as unemployed in February, 300 fewer than in January and 8,300 more than in February 2025.
By sex, the monthly unemployment rate for males was 4.7%, down from 4.8% in January and up from 4.4% a year earlier. The 4.4% unemployment rate among women was down from 4.5% in both January 2026 and February 2025.
In terms of age, the monthly youth unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years was 12.4%, up from a revised rate of 11.9% in January 2026. Among people aged 25-74, unemployment declined from 3.6% to 3.5%.
“The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 137,500 in February 2026, compared with 137,800 in January 2026. There was an increase of 8,300 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in February 2026 when compared with February 2025,” said Conor Delves, statistician in the labour market analysis section of the CSO.
“The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males decreased to 74,900 in February 2026, compared with 75,200 in January 2026. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in February 2026 was 62,500, down from 62,600 in January 2026.”
