Household Labour Force Survey June2020 Quarter
Supplementary Tables

The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) is Irelands principal source of data on employment, unemployment, labour market activity and related demographics. The June 2020 quarter (AprilJune) marked a pivotal period as the country emerged from the stringent COVID19 restrictions introduced earlier in the year. To aid analysts, policymakers and the public, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released a set of supplementary tables alongside the main quarterly publication. This page provides a concise overview of those tables, highlights the most significant findings, and explains how the data can be used.

Why Supplementary Tables Matter

While the headline HLFS release gives a snapshot of overall employment rates, unemployment rates and labour force participation, the supplementary tables add depth in several ways:

• Disaggregation by industry and occupation shows which sectors were most affected by the pandemic.
• Geographical breakdowns reveals regional variation in job losses and recoveries.
• Demographic detail age, gender, education and migration status are examined to identify vulnerable groups.
• Timeseries extensions some tables extend the series back to 2015, allowing trend analysis.
• Methodological notes clarifies sampling, weighting and any changes in definitions.

Key Supplementary Tables

1. Employment by Industry (Quarterly Q22020)

This table lists the number of persons employed in each major industry (e.g., Manufacturing, Construction, Retail, Information and Communication, and Accommodation & Food Services). The most striking shift was a 15.4% decline in Accommodation & Food Services, the sector hardest hit by lockdowns, while Information & Communication saw a modest 2.1% rise, reflecting increased demand for digital services.

2. Unemployment by Age Group

Unemployment rates for the 1524, 2534, 3544, 4554 and 5564 age bands are presented. The youngest cohort (1524) recorded an unemployment rate of 14.7%, nearly double the overall national rate of 7.8% for the quarter. This underscores the pandemics disproportionate impact on earlycareer workers.

3. Labour Force Participation by Gender and Education

Two matrices illustrate participation rates broken down by gender (male/female) and highest level of education attained (primary, secondary, thirdlevel). Notably, women with thirdlevel qualifications maintained a participation rate of 78.3%, while men in the same group were slightly higher at 81.1%.

4. Regional Employment Changes

Employment figures for the eight NUTSIII regions of Ireland are compared with the same quarter in 2019. Dublin showed the smallest relative decline (3.2%), whereas the Border region experienced a 9.8% fall, reflecting differing economic structures and the uneven spread of pandemic restrictions.

5. SelfEmployment Activity and Earnings

This table captures the number of selfemployed individuals, their average weekly earnings and the proportion working reduced hours. Selfemployment fell by 4.5% in Q22020, with a corresponding 6.7% drop in average weekly earnings (from 820 to 765).

6. Hours Worked FullTime vs PartTime

Data on average weekly hours worked separates fulltime and parttime employees. For fulltime workers, average hours fell from 38.4 to 37.6, while parttime workers saw a slight increase, suggesting a shift in employment contracts as firms adjusted to reduced demand.

Interpreting the Data

Several analytical points emerge from the supplementary tables:

1. Sectoral resilience: Digitalfocused industries proved resilient, acting as a buffer for the overall labour market.
2. Youth vulnerability: Elevated unemployment among 1524 year olds signals a need for targeted training programmes and apprenticeship incentives.
3. Regional disparity: Policy responses may need to be calibrated to support peripheral regions that experienced larger job losses.
4. Gender gaps: While participation rates remain relatively close, the pandemic widened the earnings gap in certain sectors, especially hospitality.
5. Shift to parttime work: Companies appear to be using parttime contracts to retain staff while managing lower demand.

How to Use the Tables

Researchers, journalists and policy analysts can export the tables (available as CSV and Excel files on the CSO website) for further manipulation. Below are some common applications:

• Economic impact assessments for specific industries.
• Modelling future labour market scenarios based on observed trends.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of government support schemes (e.g., the Pandemic Unemployment Payment).
• Comparative studies with other EU member states using Eurostats harmonised HLFS data.

Accessing the Full Set of Tables

The complete collection of supplementary tables for the June2020 quarter can be downloaded from the CSOs official portal:

CSO Household Labour Force Survey Q22020 Supplementary Tables

All figures are rounded to one decimal place unless otherwise noted. Data are seasonally adjusted where applicable. The tables reflect the labour market as of the end of June2020, and subsequent releases may revise some estimates.