Ireland ICT Employment Falls 20,300 to 169,200 as Tech Layoffs Reverse Covid Hiring Boom
Updated
Updated · Irish Examiner · May 21
Ireland ICT Employment Falls 20,300 to 169,200 as Tech Layoffs Reverse Covid Hiring Boom
1 articles · Updated · Irish Examiner · May 21
169,200 people worked in Ireland’s ICT sector at end-March, down 20,300 year on year, making it the country’s biggest sectoral employment drop.
16,200 of the losses came from computer programming and consultancy, as multinationals including Meta, Microsoft, Accenture and Amazon cut jobs globally; Meta alone expects 350 redundancies in Ireland.
400 was the net increase in total employment across Ireland to 2.79 million, which Goodbody said showed the labour market had softened notably at the start of the year.
20,500 jobs were added in construction and 20,400 in transport and storage, partly offsetting ICT weakness as the employment rate for ages 15-64 fell to 73.3% from 74.7%.
4.9% was the unemployment rate, while long-term unemployment rose by 15,500 to 41,300, underscoring broader strains beyond the tech sector.
With 20,000 tech jobs lost, has Ireland's over-reliance on foreign multinationals finally backfired?
Is Ireland's shift from tech layoffs to a construction boom a sign of resilience or desperation?
As AI automates tech roles, are women being disproportionately left behind in Ireland's new economy?