New research from the Central Bank shows that the Irish labour market experienced a "remarkable" recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Central Bank reported noted that there were 2.5 million people in employment in the final quarter of 2021, the highest number on record.
It said this strong employment growth occurred without a notable surge in inward migration with the employment gains supported by an expansion of the domestic labour force.
The research highlighted that the growth in employment and labour force participation has been mainly driven by women over 35 and younger people.
It found that that the recent large increase in labour market participation reflected underlying trend improvements as well as the strength of the economic recovery, rather than structural changes due to the pandemic.
The Central Bank said its analysis suggests that the higher levels of participation for women could be sustained into the future. This will provide a boost to overall labour supply and will support economic growth.
The participation gains for under 25s could also be maintained as these cohorts are contributing to labour alongside participation in education, it added.
The participation rate in the labour force here for 20-64 year olds, of all genders, is currently at its highest level at 74%.
But this is still below the best performing European countries such as the Netherlands at 83.7% and Estonia 79.1%.
Tara McIndoe-Calder, a research economist at the Central Bank, said the new research suggests that there is no strong evidence to date that changes during the pandemic, like a move to hybrid or fully remote working, were the dominant factors supporting the recovery in employment over recent quarters.
"Instead, the participation expansion related largely to under-25s and women over the age of 35, who tend to respond strongly to how rapidly the economy is growing," the economist said.
"Women over 35 had seen increases in their labour force participation for underlying societal and structural reasons - synonymous with increased educational and occupational skill-level attainment for women - that pre-date the pandemic and is expected to continue for some time to come," she added.
