Ireland

Ireland returned to positive GDP growth in 2011, and the economy continues to gain momentum. Employment increased by almost 10% in the next five years and unemployment rate dropped well below EU average. Very strong employment growth in Ireland is predicted also for 2016-2030 period, accompanied by substantial increase of working age population. Three sectors are expected to contribute most to the employment growth: Transport & storage, arts & recreation and professional services. Care workers, business managers and drivers & plant operators will be the fastest growing occupations. More than half of job openings (including replacements for vacated jobs) till 2030 will be for high-level qualifications; job opportunities for people with low qualifications will continue to shrink.

Future employment growth (in %) in Ireland in 2016-2030 across sectors

In 2016 the employment rate in Ireland was 70.28% compared to 70.99% in EU

During the period 2011-2016 the size of employment in EU changed by 3.73% compared to 9.24% in Ireland .

Sectors with the largest share in employment in Ireland in 2016:

Wholesale & retail trade 13.72%
Health & social care 12.51%
Manufacturing 11.50%
Education 7.54%
Accommodation & food 7.30%

Occupations with the largest share in employment in Ireland in 2016:

Sales workers 7.64%
Care workers 5.41%
Office associate professionals 5.13%
Office professionals 5.12%
Personal service workers 4.94%

Sectors expected to have the strongest employment change over the period 2016-2030 in Ireland:

Transport & storage 47.76%
Arts & recreation 43.25%
Professional services 38.27%
Health & social care 33.05%
ICT services 29.87%

Occupations expected to have the largest numbers of job openings in Ireland over the period 2016-2030:

Care workers 114,639
Business managers 108,305
Drivers & vehicle operators 99,550
Farmworkers and gardeners 99,309
Office associate professionals 98,064

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Ireland

Future employment growth (in %) in Ireland in 2016-2030 across sectors

Employment share of occupations (%) in Ireland (2011-2016 comparison)

Education profile (%) of the working age population in Ireland (2011-2016 comparison)

Age profile (%) of the working age population in Ireland (2011-2016 comparison)

Future employment growth (% change) across occupations in Ireland compared to EU in 2016-2030

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