Some 3,000 employees left positions within the State’s expertise sector within the yr to August, in keeping with the most recent Employee Index knowledge from the Central Statistics Office.

The general index, based mostly on payroll knowledge, confirmed the whole variety of workers within the State elevated by 2.15 per cent in the identical 12-month interval, bringing the whole to 2,424,200.

Within this, the worker index for the knowledge and communication fell by 2.4 per cent, leaving the whole at 121,600. The expertise sector has seen a severe of lay-offs because the finish of the pandemic, with Meta, Microsoft and Twitter (now X) among the many massive employers lowering their Irish workers numbers.

The sector which noticed the most important enhance in worker numbers within the yr to August was the monetary, insurance coverage and actual property sector, the place the index rose by 5.8 per cent and worker numbers elevated by 7,000.

The sector with the most important enhance in worker numbers on a month-to-month foundation was lodging and meals service, which noticed an increase of 0.6 per cent to August, whereas the most important fall was once more within the data and communication sector, which shed 1 per cent.

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The CSO stated the seasonally adjusted complete worker index rose by 0.1 per cent within the month to August 2023.

John Mullane, statistician within the labour market and earnings division of the CSO, stated employment was down for all these within the 34 years and beneath age classes within the month to August 2023, with the most important fall noticed in these aged 15-19 years (-1.3 per cent), adopted by the 20-24 yr class (-0.4 per cent).

“There was no change in the 35-44-year age group. All groups 45 years and over saw an increase in employment, with the largest positive change observed in the 60-64-year-old group (+0.3 per cent),” he stated.

A breakdown of the annual 2.5 per cent enhance within the general index confirmed the feminine worker index elevated by 3 per cent, whereas the male index was up 2.2 per cent. With the exception of the 15-19 years age class, which fell by 4.1 per cent, all different age teams noticed an annual enhance within the worker index.

The age group with the most important annual enhance in worker numbers was 65 years and over, with a 9 per cent rise, adopted by these aged between 60-64 years, up 5.9 per cent.

March 2021 was the final month to point out damaging annual change (-10.9 per cent) within the worker index.

The CSO’s month-to-month estimate of payroll workers makes use of knowledge from Revenue’s PAYE modernisation. People are counted if they’re estimated to have labored for higher than zero pay throughout the reference month. Results don’t align with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) on account of differing methodology.