18% unemployment rate in Donegal – Census 2016

Latest figures from Census 2016 show an unemployment rate of 18% in Donegal, 5% above the national average.
Labour force participation in the county is 4% lower than the national average, while there is a slightly higher proportion of unpaid carers.
In April 2016, there were 71,182 persons in the labour force in County Donegal, down 1.3% on
2011.
The labour force participation rate in the county was just over 57%, compared to just over 61% for the State overall.
There were 12,829 unemployed persons in Donegal, based on the census figures, giving an overall unemployment rate for the county of 18%. This compared to a national unemployment rate of 13%.
There were 22,365 retired people in the county, and 13,329 students aged 15 and over.
14.4% of Donegal’s population indicated that they had a disability, compared to 13.5% nationally.
4.5% of Donegal residents provided regular unpaid personal help for a friend or family member, slightly higher than the national average, while 85.6% of Donegal residents stated that their health was either good or very good, slightly lower than the national figure.