The number of people employed in the economy increased by 51,500 to 2,353,500 in the first three months of the year. However when adjusted for Covid-19, that figure dropped to 2,070,371.
The figures are contained in the latest Labour Force Survey from the CSO.
The survey also draws comparisons with the same period in 2014.
Over the past six years, the workforce has grown by 402,800, or 20.6%, with 95.6% of those new employees working full time.
The biggest increase was in construction with 48,600 new employees, an increase of 90.7%. This was followed by Administrative and Support Services which saw 30,600 new employees, an increase of 46.9%.
The Survey also shows the percentage of workers normally working from home in 2014 was 4.1%. That had doubled to 8.8% by the end of the first quarter of 2020.
That's before the full impact of the lockdown on work practices.
