Educational attainment and skill utilisation in the Irish labour market: An EU comparison

In recent years the Irish economy has experienced strong economic growth accompanied by significant improvements in the labour market. The unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2017 stands at 6.2 per cent (CSO, 2017), its lowest rate in nine years. In light of these improvements in the labour market, we examine the nature of current employment in Ireland with respect to the intensity of use of certain skills and the mismatch between the skills possessed by employees and those required to do their jobs. Furthermore, we consider the possible future sources of skilled labour supply by examining the characteristics of those currently unemployed and inactive in the labour market, as well as the ability of Ireland to attract high-skilled migrant workers.