EU
Ireland
~35%
Work in exposed occupations
~979 k · estimate · 2025
5.0%
Unemployment
±0.0 pp (Aug 2026)
Sept 2026
12.5%
Youth unemployment (<25)
Sept 2026
1.3%
Job vacancy rate
Q2 2026
80.2%
Employment rate (20–64)
2025
20%
Firms using AI
2025 · EU average 20%
0.69
IMF AI Preparedness Index
IMF · 2023
2.80 m
Employed
2025 · Eurostat
Unemployment, monthly
IrelandEU27Eurostat une_rt_m · seasonally adjusted
Who does what? — employment by occupational group
Tile size is the number employed, colour the group's average AI exposure.
Out of 100 workers — Ireland
- 43Not exposed
- 22Minimal
- 5Low
- 14Medium
- 11High
- 5Highest
Outlook to 2035 (Cedefop)
The fastest growing and shrinking occupational groups between 2025 and 2035.
+13.0%
Change 2025→2035
1.12 m
Total expected openings
2025–2035
757 k
Replacement demand
+362 k
Expansion
- Chief executives, senior officials and legislators+48.1%
- Food preparation assistants+42.9%
- Production and specialised services managers+41.3%
- Information and communications technicians+32.1%
- Stationary plant and machine operators+31.1%
- Numerical and material recording clerks+29.5%
- Market-oriented skilled agricultural workers−7.3%
- Cleaners and helpers−9.7%
- Assemblers−12.6%
- Customer services clerks−15.8%
- Protective services workers−31.0%
- General and keyboard clerks−39.1%
Cedefop Skills Forecast 2026
What employers say (WEF 2025)
10%
expected job churn by 2030
global: 22%
37%
of skills will change
global: 39%
93%
of firms run AI programmes
global: 88%
Small employer sample per country — indicative, not a precise measurement. WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025.