Share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland
Ireland: Share of employment outside the formal sector was 3.77 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland, 2007–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 3.77 for share of employment outside the formal sector in 2025.
That represents a change of down 17.0% on the previous year and down 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland peaked at 9.92 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 2.12, in 2020.
That places Ireland 71st out of 81 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 19 years of available data.
Share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 9.38 | — |
| 2008 | 8.46 | -9.8% |
| 2009 | 6.67 | -21.3% |
| 2010 | 9.92 | +48.8% |
| 2011 | 8.26 | -16.7% |
| 2012 | 3 | -63.6% |
| 2013 | 4.77 | +58.8% |
| 2014 | 6.64 | +39.1% |
| 2015 | 4.64 | -30.0% |
| 2016 | 4.4 | -5.3% |
| 2017 | 4.22 | -4.0% |
| 2018 | 4.14 | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 2.32 | -44.0% |
| 2020 | 2.12 | -8.8% |
| 2021 | 2.33 | +10.2% |
| 2022 | 3.23 | +38.5% |
| 2023 | 3.59 | +11.2% |
| 2024 | 4.54 | +26.5% |
| 2025 | 3.77 | -17.0% |
Ireland compared with similar countries
- Ireland's 3.77 is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.33, 71% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Ireland's 3.77 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.51, 68% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.17 | 6.67 | 9.38 | 3 |
| 2010s | 5.23 | 2.32 | 9.92 | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.26 | 2.12 | 4.54 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More work & labour data for Ireland
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.4488 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.4574 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.4405 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.23 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.9335 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 4,354 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,447 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 2,638 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 2,649 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 5,286 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland?
- Share of employment outside the formal sector in Ireland was 3.77 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 9.92 in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of employment outside the formal sector recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.12 in 2020.
- How does Ireland rank for share of employment outside the formal sector?
- Ireland ranks 71st out of 81 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of employment outside the formal sector rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Share of employment outside the formal sector (previous ILO definition - ICLS13). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under ILO Terms of Use (attribution required).
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. This harmonized series for employment outside the formal sector is derived using the same set of criteria across countries to improve comparability. The criteria used are based on employment status, institutional sector, destination of production, bookkeeping, registration, social security contribution, places of work and size. Data disaggregated by economic activity are provided according to the latest version of the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) available for that year. Data may have been regrouped from national classifications, which may not be strictly compatible with ISIC. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.