Irish economy

Employment growth set to beat most forecasts again in 2026

DAVY VIEW

A weaker pace of survey-measured employment growth during 2025 reverted in line with our forecast for Q4 and more benign signals from monthly administrative payrolls. The unemployment rate has been revised lower to 4.6% in Q4, while the share of employment with third-level education continued to increase. Construction employment also grew strongly, including continued double-digit jobs growth in new housing/other residential building.

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Feb 20 2026, 07:18 GMT

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