Employment grew in the first quarter of 2023 from one year ago

release 26/04/2023 | Labour force survey 2023, 1st quarter

Correction

Industry data of the labour force survey for the third quarter of 2023 and corrected industry data for the first and second quarters have been published

Population aged 15 to 74 by labour force status in the first quarter of 2022 and 2023

	2022/Q1, 1000 persons	2023/Q1, 1000 persons	Change, 2022/Q1 - 2023/Q1, 1000 persons	Change, 2022/Q1 - 2023/Q1, %
Population total	4 121	4 124	3	0,1
Active population total	2 754	2 782	28	1,0
- employed	2 560	2 586	26	1,0
- unemployed	194	197	3	1,3
Inactive population	1 367	1 342	-25	-1,8

Key selections

The average number of employed persons in the first quarter of 2023 was 2,586,000, which was 26,000 more than in the corresponding period of 2022.
There were 16,000 more employed women and 10,000 more employed men than in the first quarter of 2022.
The number of employed persons increased most in manufacturing (C) and information and communication (J) in the first quarter of 2023.
In January to March 2023, the number of hours worked by employed persons increased by 1.5 per cent from twelve months back.

Numbers of employed persons and hours worked grew

In the first quarter (January to March) of 2023, the average number of employed persons was 2,586,000, which was 26,000 higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2022.

The number of employed persons increased most in manufacturing (C) and information and communication (J).

The number of hours worked by employed persons was 1,044.2 million hours in the first quarter of 2023, which was 1.5 per cent more than a year ago.

Number of unemployed nearly unchanged, number of persons in the inactive population decreased

The average number of unemployed persons in the first quarter of 2023 was 197,000, which was 3,000 more than in January to March 2022. The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2023 was 7.1 per cent, having been 7.0 per cent one year earlier.

In January to March 2023, the number of persons in the inactive population was 1,342,000, which was 25,000 fewer than a year earlier.