The number of people working in the State rose by 2.7 per cent in April compared to a year ago, driven by a sharp increase in workers in the financial sector.
There were 2.45 million people working in Ireland during April on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said on Thursday. That compared to 2.38 million a year earlier.
Much of the growth was driven by the financial, insurance and real estate sector which saw employee numbers risen 7.1 per cent in the last year.
The number of people at work increased by 0.2 per cent in April compared to a month earlier.
The economic sector which saw the largest monthly increase in employee numbers in April was accommodation and food service activities, which saw a 1 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, the construction sector saw the largest monthly decline as the number of payrolled employees decreased by 1.1 per cent.
All economic sectors showed an annual increase in the employee index when compared with April 2022.
The number of people working in transportation and storage rose of 5.4 per cent year-on-year.
Almost all age groups also saw annual increases in the number of payrolled employees, with the highest increase of 9 per cent amongst those aged 65 and over, followed by a 5.1 per cent increase amongst those aged 60 to 64.
The exception was amongst those aged 15 to 19, as the age group saw a 2.5 per cent decline in employment numbers in the 12 months to April 2023.
