Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Ireland
Ireland: Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts was 0.625 0-6 scale in 2025. ▲ Rising
Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Ireland, 1985–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in 0-6 scale.
Analysis
Ireland recorded 0.625 0-6 scale for strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in 2025. That is the highest value across all 41 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Ireland peaked at 0.625 0-6 scale in 2004 and was at its lowest, 0.25 0-6 scale, in 1985.
Ireland ranks 36th of 41 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 41 years of available data.
Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts in Ireland, year by year
| Year | 0-6 scale | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.25 0-6 scale | — |
| 1986 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.25 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +150.0% |
| 2005 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 0.625 0-6 scale | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.25 0-6 scale | 0.25 0-6 scale | 0.25 0-6 scale | 5 |
| 1990s | 0.25 0-6 scale | 0.25 0-6 scale | 0.25 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.475 0-6 scale | 0.25 0-6 scale | 0.625 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.625 0-6 scale | 0.625 0-6 scale | 0.625 0-6 scale | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.625 0-6 scale | 0.625 0-6 scale | 0.625 0-6 scale | 6 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
- 34 Sweden 0.9375 0-6 scale compare
- 35 Israel 0.875 0-6 scale compare
- 36 Iceland 0.625 0-6 scale compare
- 38 South Africa 0.5 0-6 scale compare
- 39 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 0.375 0-6 scale compare
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 strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Ireland?
- Strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts in Ireland was 0.625 0-6 scale in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts recorded in Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.625 0-6 scale in 2004.
- What is the lowest strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.25 0-6 scale in 1985.
- How does Ireland rank for strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts?
- Ireland ranks 36th out of 41 countries with data for 2025.
- Is strictness of employment protection — temporary contracts rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 Strictness of employment protection — Temporary contracts. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The OECD indicators of employment protection are synthetic indicators of the strictness of regulation on dismissals and the use of temporary contracts. For each year, indicators refer to regulation in force on the 1st of January. For more information and full methodology, see OECD Indicators of Employment Protection webpage Last data update: May 2022 OECD statistics contact: ELS.Contact@oecd.org