Easing restrictions boosted employment by 221,000 to 2.47 million in the first nine months of the year, official figures show.

Jobs in hospitality, professions and technology all grew in the period up to the end of September, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) says in its Labour Force Survey for the third quarter.

Jim Dalton, statistician, said the number of those aged 15 to 89 in work grew 221,000 or 9.8 per cent to 2.47 million in the year to the third quarter of 2021.

Taking into account the impact of Covid-19, the CSO estimates that there were 2.37 million 15 to 89 year olds working at the end of September.

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There were 149,100 people out of work on September 30th, 5.7 per cent of the workforce.

Adjusting for the impact of Covid-19, there were 232,866 workers out of a job, or 8.9 per cent of those aged 15 to 74.

“The Covid-19 pandemic is continuing to have a considerable impact on the Irish labour market and that impact was first felt at the end of quarter one 2020,” said Mr Dalton.