Economy, jobs and prices in South-West (Southern, Ireland): official figures
GDP per person was 138,000 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2024, 346% of the EU average (222% for Ireland); 2nd highest of 8 regional areas in Ireland.
How big is the economy of South-West?
The local economy produced €126.0 billion of output (GDP) in 2024.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people work in South-West?
About 397,150 people worked in South-West in 2024 (employment by place of work).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the unemployment rate in the South-West?
Census 2022 recorded an unemployment rate of 7.3% in the South-West (people looking for work as a share of the labour force aged 15+), below the national 8.3% and the lowest of 8 NUTS 3 regions.
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copyHow many people work from home in the South-West?
34.3% of people aged 15+ who answered the question in the South-West worked from home at least some of the time in Census 2022, against 36.1% nationally.
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copyWhat is the average income in the South-West?
The CSO estimates that each resident of the South-West had €30,059 of disposable income in 2024 (State = €30,139), the 2nd highest of 8 NUTS 3 regions.
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copyWhat is the average salary in the South-West?
Half of all employees in the South-West earned less than €46,749 in 2025 (national median €46,305), which places it the 3rd highest of 8 NUTS 3 regions for median earnings.
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copyWhat is the gender pay gap in the South-West?
Mean annual earnings in the South-West were €57,340 in 2025; the median for women was €40,980 against €52,387 for men, a gap of 21.8%.
Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copyWhat is the main industry in South-West?
The largest part of the economy of South-West in 2024 was industry (manufacturing, mining and energy), at 74.4% of gross value added, followed by finance, property and business services (10.0%).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow industrial is South-West?
Industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) made up 74.4% of output in 2024, against 32.7% for Ireland.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow fast is the economy of South-West growing?
Gross value added rose from €81.0 billion in 2018 to €119.9 billion in 2024 in current prices, an increase of 48% before inflation.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat jobs do people do in South-West?
Of the 397,150 jobs located in South-West in 2024, 31% in public services, education, health and other services, 15% in industry and 5.3% in farming, forestry and fishing.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyAre jobs growing in South-West?
The number of people working in South-West rose by 32.2% between 2015 and 2024, to 397,150.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- 40.3% of people in the South-West belonged to the professional, managerial or technical social classes in Census 2022, the 3rd highest of 8 NUTS 3 regions (Ireland: 39.9%). Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- Of the 331,968 residents of the South-West at work in Census 2022, 4.6% worked in agriculture, forestry and fishing and 16.1% in manufacturing (Ireland: 3.5% and 11.8%). Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- 6.7% of commuters living in the South-West took an hour or more to reach work, school or college in Census 2022 (9.7% nationally). Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- Disposable income per person in the South-West rose by 29.0% in the five years from 2019 (€23,305) to 2024, compared with 32.7% for Ireland as a whole. Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- Total household income in the South-West, before income tax, came to €42,555 per person in 2024, of which wages, salaries and employer contributions made up 63.7%. Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- Income from self-employment accounted for 9.3% of total household income in the South-West in 2024, the 4th highest of 8 NUTS 3 regions (Ireland: 8.0%). Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
- Median annual earnings in the South-West grew by 15.3% between 2020 and 2025. Source: Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · saved copy
How South-West compares with other regional areas in Ireland
Census 2022 unemployment rate (%) (2022)
South-West ranks 8 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Census 2022 unemployment rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Midland | 9.5% |
| 3 | South-East | 9.2% |
| 4 | West | 8.2% |
| 5 | Mid-West | 8.2% |
| 6 | Dublin | 8.2% |
| 7 | Mid-East | 8.2% |
| 8 | South-West | 7.3% |
Professional, managerial and technical social classes (%) (2022)
South-West ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Professional, managerial and technical social classes (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | 43.3% |
| 2 | Mid-East | 41.9% |
| 3 | South-West | 40.3% |
| 4 | West | 39.4% |
| 5 | Mid-West | 37.3% |
| 6 | South-East | 36.5% |
| 7 | Border | 35.4% |
People who work from home at least some of the time (%) (2022)
South-West ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | People who work from home at least some of the time (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | 46.4% |
| 2 | Mid-East | 36.5% |
| 3 | South-West | 34.3% |
| 4 | West | 31.1% |
| 5 | Mid-West | 30.6% |
| 6 | South-East | 28.8% |
| 7 | Midland | 27.9% |
Disposable income per person (€) (2024)
South-West ranks 2 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Disposable income per person (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | €33,889 |
| 2 | South-West | €30,059 |
| 3 | Mid-West | €29,451 |
| 4 | Mid-East | €29,324 |
| 5 | South-East | €28,691 |
| 6 | West | €28,360 |
| 7 | Midland | €26,606 |
Median annual earnings (€) (2025)
South-West ranks 3 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Median annual earnings (€) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | €50,474 |
| 2 | Mid-East | €47,627 |
| 3 | South-West | €46,749 |
| 4 | Mid-West | €45,206 |
| 5 | West | €44,771 |
| 6 | Midland | €43,980 |
| 7 | South-East | €43,095 |
Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) (2024)
South-West ranks 1 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from industry (manufacturing, mining and energy) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South-West | 74.4% |
| 2 | West | 41.5% |
| 3 | Mid-West | 40.9% |
| 4 | Mid-East | 36.8% |
| 5 | Midland | 26.0% |
| 6 | South-East | 24.9% |
| 7 | Border | 21.3% |
Share of output from finance, property and business services (2024)
South-West ranks 8 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from finance, property and business services |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | South-East | 27.8% |
| 3 | Mid-East | 21.6% |
| 4 | Border | 20.3% |
| 5 | Mid-West | 20.2% |
| 6 | Midland | 16.5% |
| 7 | West | 16.3% |
| 8 | South-West | 10.0% |
Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services (2024)
South-West ranks 8 of 8, highest first.
| Rank | Area | Share of output from public administration, education, health and other services |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Border | 25.8% |
| 3 | South-East | 19.3% |
| 4 | West | 16.9% |
| 5 | Mid-East | 14.7% |
| 6 | Mid-West | 14.6% |
| 7 | Dublin | 8.5% |
| 8 | South-West | 6.2% |
More on South-West: overview · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government and politics · Southern · Ireland
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
- Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland: Estimates of Household Income by Region and County, 2000-2024 (PxStat table CIRGDP07, County Incomes and Regional GDP), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e9c131e91ab7…)
- Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland: Mean and median annual earnings by sex and NUTS 3 region, 2011-2025 (PxStat table NEA05), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 692c97378d3e…)
- Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland: Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics (SAPS), all themes, by administrative county and city, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 32250e98c48a…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
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