This document summarizes research on youth unemployment and precarious employment in Ireland. Some key points: - Youth unemployment in Ireland peaked at 15.9% in 2012, though it has since declined. - The rate of young people (ages 20-34) who are not in employment, education, or training remained high in Ireland compared to the EU, though it has also declined in recent years. - Precarious employment, including involuntary part-time work and temporary contracts, has increased in Ireland, particularly for young people under 30 years old. Median and mean annual wages have also been lower for young people compared to older age cohorts.

1. The Irish labour market for young
people; employment and precariousness
Ciarán Nugent
NERI (Nevin Economic Research Institute)
Dublin
ciaran.nugent@NERInstitute.net
www.NERInstitute.net

2. Some of the findings of:
• McDonnell, T & Nugent, C. (2018). Labour Market Trends
in the Republic of Ireland, NERI Working Paper Series No.
53
• Nugent, C. (2017). A time-series analysis of precarious
work in the elementary professions in Ireland, NERI
Working Paper Series No. 43
• Nugent, C. (2018). Wages in Ireland 2008-2016, NERI
Research inBrief.
• Nugent, C. (2017). Intergenerational Inequality In Ireland,
NERI Research inBrief .

3. Youth Unemployment (EUROSTAT)
• The national figure peaked at 15.9% in 2012
18.4 18.8
8.8
14.5
8.0 8.1
3.6 5.7
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017
EU-19 (< 25) Ireland (< 25) EU-19 (25-74) Ireland (25-74)

4. Not in employment, education or training
(NEET), 20-34 yrs (EUROSTAT)
GEO/TIME 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
EU 16.5 18.5 19.1 19.3 19.9 20.1 19.4 18.9 18.3 17.2
Euro area (19) 16.6 18.9 19.3 19.4 20.2 20.5 20.2 19.7 19.1 18.0
Belgium 14.8 16.3 16.3 16.9 17.3 18.2 17.3 18.1 17.2 16.5
Denmark 6.7 8.3 9.5 10.0 10.4 9.9 9.8 10.2 10.0 11.8
Germany 15.6 15.8 15.0 13.5 13.0 12.6 12.5 12.2 12.4 11.9
Ireland 17.7 23.0 24.6 26.0 25.0 22.5 21.0 19.5 17.7 16.1
Greece 19.2 20.2 23.7 29.5 34.4 36.7 34.9 32.4 30.5 28.8
Spain 17.0 22.5 23.0 24.2 26.7 27.4 25.9 24.2 22.8 20.8
France 15.8 18.2 18.3 18.6 19.1 17.4 18.0 19.0 18.9 18.2
Italy 22.7 24.8 26.5 27.1 28.5 31.7 32.0 31.6 30.7 29.5
Luxembourg 12.2 10.1 9.0 9.1 10.0 10.2 9.6 9.7 9.9 9.1
Netherlands 6.8 7.5 8.2 8.6 9.5 10.8 11.0 10.1 9.7 9.0
Austria 11.3 11.9 11.8 10.8 10.4 11.2 11.2 11.2 11.0 10.6
Portugal 13.5 14.9 16.2 16.0 19.3 20.0 18.1 16.1 16.2 13.5
Finland 11.2 13.8 13.7 13.3 13.7 14.2 15.1 15.5 15.0 14.5
Sweden 9.2 11.3 9.8 9.2 9.6 9.0 8.8 8.5 8.3 7.8
UK 15.5 17.1 17.2 17.9 17.8 17.1 15.8 15.1 14.8 13.7

5. Precariousness
• Context
• An international rise in non-standard employment (NSE)
• Increasing attention in the policy sphere to precarious work with
globalization and automation; the future of work, decent work, job quality.
• The share of working-poor has also been rising for decades- continued to rise
in Ireland until 2014 with a slight dip in 2015.
• Broad consensus on the impact of precarious work on health and well-being.

6. • Conceptualizing precarious work
• In a general sense it marks a shift in entrepreneurial risks and responsibilities on to workers
(and the state).
• Different aspects
• Income, insecurity of contract, insecurity of supports
• At-risk categories
• Low-paid, marginal/involuntary part-time, involuntarily temporary, agency work, dependent
self-employed (deliveroo) …
• Drivers
• Development models, institutional historical context, union density, austerity
• Sectors
Literature

7. Precariousness
Focus here is on involuntary employment contracts:
• The involuntarily underemployed
• Involuntarily on fixed-term contracts

8. Structure of the workforce
Part-time rate (‘at work’)
Source: CSO (2018) Labour Force Survey and author calculations.
Note: Part-time and ‘at work’. (students not included)
• (21.2% of employment in 2017, 19.2% of employees)
• 28.4% of employees under 30
13 14.1
21.6
18.3
5.1
4.5
11.8
9.2
25.5
27.6
33
29.1
8.5 8
17.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30

9. Involuntarily part-time (Underemployed)
(Q: Why are you working part-time? Ans: I can’t find a
full-time job.)
30.9
14
44.6
28.4
62.4
32.3
48.8
20.9
11.4
36.1
20.9
46.5
28
65.4
41.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30
Source: CSO (2018a) Labour Force Survey and authors calculations
Notes: Rates are for those who identify as ‘at work’ as their principal status and ‘could not find a full-time job’.

10. 9.6
5.2
3.2
1.5
7.9
4.5
5.3
11.9
6.1
4.0 2.2
13.9
7.2
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30
Underemployed (% of those ‘at work’), ROI,
1998-2017
Source: CSO (2018) Labour Force Survey and authors calculations
Notes: Rates are for those who identify as ‘at work’ as their principal status and ‘could not find a full-time job’.

11. Notes: These figures include only those who self-identify as ‘at work’. See also blog on temporary
contracts at: https://www.nerinstitute.net/blog/2018/04/30/temporary-contracts-what-
we-might-not-know-from-su/
Source: CSO (2018) and authors calculations.
Temporary Contract Rate, ROI, 1998-2017
7.7
6.1
5.6
6.7
9.7
7.2
8.7
11.2 9.5
15.8
12.8
13.4
0
5
10
15
20
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30

12. Involuntary Temporary Contract
(% of temporary workers), ROI, 1998-2017
Notes: These figures include only those who self-identify as ‘at work’. Students, the unemployed and
retirees are therefore not included.
Source: CSO (2018) and authors calculations.
54.9
58.6
82.5
69.6
50.9
76.7
59.7
0
20
40
60
80
100
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30

13. Involuntary Temporary Contracts (% of
those at work), ROI, 1998-2017
4.2
3.13.6
6.1 4.7
5.7
3.8
11.1
8.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2017
all men women under 30
Notes: These figures include only those who self-identify as ‘at work’. Students, the unemployed and
retirees are therefore not included.
Source: CSO (2018) and authors calculations.

14. Annual Wages by Cohort (Median)
Notes: These figures include only those who self-identify as ‘at work’. Students, the unemployed and
retirees are therefore not included.
Source: CSO (2018). Survey on Income and Living Conditions
76.0
96.0
97.2
105.2
114.6
99.5
88.7
105.3
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

15. Annual Wages by Cohort (Mean)
Notes: These figures include only those who self-identify as ‘at work’. Students, the unemployed
and retirees are therefore not included.
Source: CSO (2018). Survey on Income and Living Conditions
91.8
102.1
112.5
114.0
101.6
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
2008 2010 2012 2014 2016
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

16. Young people (16-29) in receipt of unemployment (grey) and
disability (blue) benefits across the OECD in 2014.
(journal.ie, sourced from the OECD, Society at a glance 2016)

17. Issues
• Education profile of 25-34 year olds improved 2008-2016
⇒53.3%-65.4% with post leaving certificate qualifications.
⇒30.1%-36.2% with a third level degree or above
At the same time the occupational profile of the younger
groups have changed.
Elementary workers (9.6% of ‘at work’ in 2008 – 24.1% in
2016 (18-24) and
8.7%-14.1% for (25-34). SILC 2018
Note: LFS figures don’t match up. Further investigation
required.