Virus pandemic causes high rate of unemployment

Ireland's unemployment rate at the end of May was 26.1 per cent.

CSO figures show that it was a slight improvement on the figure for April. More than half of people aged 15 to 24 are unemployed. The standard rate for unemployment in May was 5.6 per cent , however when account is taken of those in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment that figure rises to 26.1 per cent. That represents a slight improvement on the April figure of 28.2 per cent. The rate of unemployment is broadly the same for men and women.