Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Ireland

Ireland: Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment was 576,085 in 2026. ▲ Rising

Latest (2026)
576,085
Change on year
up 1.5%
World rank
16th
of 17 countries
All-time high
576,085
in 2026
All-time low
293,233
in 1995
Years of data
32
1995–2026

Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Ireland, 1995–2026

0200.0k400.0k600.0k1995201020261995: 293.2k1996: 293.6k1997: 297.7k1998: 303.4k1999: 312.5k2000: 331.6k2001: 358.1k2002: 374.4k2003: 375.8k2004: 381.8k2005: 391.7k2006: 408.3k2007: 419.7k2008: 435.9k2009: 422.4k2010: 415.9k2011: 404.3k2012: 395.0k2013: 391.3k2014: 393.3k2015: 404.4k2016: 415.3k2017: 430.1k2018: 443.2k2019: 463.4k2020: 463.4k2021: 489.4k2022: 525.8k2023: 540.8k2024: 557.0k2025: 567.3k2026: 576.1k

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Analysis

Ireland recorded 576,085 for economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in 2026. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.5% on the previous year and up 38.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Ireland peaked at 576,085 in 2026 and was at its lowest, 293,233, in 1995.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.

Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Ireland, year by year

Annual values for Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Ireland, 1995 to 2026.
Year Value Change
1995 293,233
1996 293,604 +0.1%
1997 297,671 +1.4%
1998 303,427 +1.9%
1999 312,505 +3.0%
2000 331,633 +6.1%
2001 358,129 +8.0%
2002 374,445 +4.6%
2003 375,834 +0.4%
2004 381,837 +1.6%
2005 391,681 +2.6%
2006 408,283 +4.2%
2007 419,714 +2.8%
2008 435,911 +3.9%
2009 422,424 -3.1%
2010 415,911 -1.5%
2011 404,342 -2.8%
2012 395,004 -2.3%
2013 391,291 -0.9%
2014 393,312 +0.5%
2015 404,364 +2.8%
2016 415,308 +2.7%
2017 430,067 +3.6%
2018 443,229 +3.1%
2019 463,428 +4.6%
2020 463,399 -0.0%
2021 489,373 +5.6%
2022 525,771 +7.4%
2023 540,848 +2.9%
2024 556,971 +3.0%
2025 567,311 +1.9%
2026 576,085 +1.5%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 300,088 293,233 312,505 5
2000s 389,989 331,633 435,911 10
2010s 415,626 391,291 463,428 10
2020s 531,394 463,399 576,085 7

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 13 Portugal 814,770 compare
  2. 14 Finland 672,091 compare
  3. 15 Hungary 646,516 compare
  4. 17 Luxembourg 52,295 compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More economy & growth data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Ireland?
Economic outlook no 117 — general government employment in Ireland was 576,085 in 2026, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest economic outlook no 117 — general government employment recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 576,085 in 2026.
What is the lowest economic outlook no 117 — general government employment recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 293,233 in 1995.
How does Ireland rank for economic outlook no 117 — general government employment?
Ireland ranks 16th out of 17 countries with data for 2026.
Is economic outlook no 117 — general government employment rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 38.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment in Ireland. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/economic-outlook-no-117-general-government-employment/ireland/

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About this data

Indicator
Economic Outlook No 117 — General government employment
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
23 places, 1,195 data points, 1960–2026
Last refreshed

The OECD Economic Outlook presents the OECD’s analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, government spending, prices and current balances based on a review of each member country and of the induced effect on each of them on international developments. OECD (2025), OECD Economic Outlook No 117 (Edition 2025/1) EO117 Database documentation EO117 Last historical points gdp inflation cpi population unemployment real gdp gdp per capita employment OECD Economic Outlook website: https://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/ Contact : eco.outlook@oecd.org Keywords : Outlook, forecasts, forecast, GDP