Monthly unemployment rate up in July, figures show

The monthly unemployment rate for July was 5.1%, which is up 0.1% in June, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

When the results were broken down by sex, the monthly unemployment rate for men was 4.9%, up from 4.8% in June, and down from 5.0% in July 2025.

For women, the monthly unemployment rate in June was 5.3%, an increase from 5.2% in June 2026, and is up from 5.0% in July 2025.

When it came to age, the monthly unemployment rate for people aged 18024 years was 12.3%, which is up from 11.8% in June 2026.

The monthly unemployment rate for those aged 25-74 was 4.1%, which is up from a revised rate of 4.0% in June 2026.

Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour market Analysis Section, said: “The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for all people aged 15-74 years in July 2026 was 5.1%, up from 5.0% in both June 2026 and July 2025. In July 2026, the unemployment rate for males was 4.9%, and for females was 5.3%.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 149,900 in July 2026, compared with 147,100 in June 2026. There was a rise of 2,600 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in July 2026 when compared with July 2025.

The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed males increased to 75,600 in July 2026, compared with 74,500 in June 2026. The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed females in July 2026 was 74,300, up from 72,500 in June 2026.”