Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The labour force survey, LFS, carried out by the CSO, is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. The most recent figures available are for the fourth quarter of 2024. The figures for this response use the second quarter as the reference period for the year. Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey, it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS. Regional estimates of employment are produced at the NUTS 3 level. NUTS are the geocode standard developed and regulated by Eurostat. The NUTS 3 mid-east region includes counties Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow. I will give a sample of the number of persons aged 15 to 89 in employment in the mid-east between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2024. I will not go through all the figures because the Deputy will get them in writing. In 2014, there were 284,200 persons in employment. In 2024, there were 405,600 people in employment. While this region covers the counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, it does not give a specific breakdown. The Deputy can have a copy of this information. These figures and further data relating to the Irish labour market, with a regional breakdown, can be accessed on the CSO website.

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