The labour market is a term used to describe the relationship between the workplace (available employment) and the workforce (people, aged 16 and over, who are working or are available to work). A labour market is said to be healthy if there is enough work available for all those who seek it. Most countries in the world have some difficulty achieving or maintaining a healthy labour market.
In Ireland, as in other countries, the health of our labour market changes over time. In the years up to 2007, we had one of the strongest (healthiest) labour markets in the world. Now, as our economy is under stress, there are less employment opportunities, and a growing imbalance in the number of jobs available to workers with the necessary skills, in some instances too few (e.g. engineers) and in others too many (e.g. builders).
The following links provide access to the main sources of information from which we determine the state of our labour market. It is worth noting that the predictions and commentries made by economists, researchers and journalists provide information to be considered carefully, but we recommend that any predictions as to the future state of the labour market (2+ years) should be just one factor of many to be considered to guide your choice of career.
View a list of those occupations which are causing difficulties in our labour market from here:
Labour Market Research
These links are to well established sources of information used to review, evaluate and predict changes in our labour market.
This is the primary source of statistical information about our population. Several of the reports generated by the CSO provide the basis of most other reports on the Labour Market.
Forfás provides the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and other stakeholders with analysis, advice and support on issues related to enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation.
The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) is a body appointed by the Irish Government to advise it on aspects of education and training related to the future skills requirements of the enterprise sector of the Irish economy.
The ESRI is one of Europe's leading research centres in the social sciences. Their main focus is research on economic and social change in Ireland in the new global context.
The National Skills Bulletin provides a detailed overview of the Irish labour market. It is based on the research conducted by the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit of FÁS on behalf of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.
