Photo: HENRY CLARK · CC BY-SA 2.0Working-age people in Ballyjamesduff are less likely to have a job than in 67% of Irish towns
On jobs and income together, Ballyjamesduff grades C, #3 of 5 in County Cavan. Unemployment in Ballyjamesduff stood at 11% at the 2022 census (the middle of Irish towns: 9.2%).
Work in Ballyjamesduff: the figures worth knowing
Work near the middle
65% of people aged 15 to 64 in Ballyjamesduff had a job at the 2022 census; the middle of Irish towns is 68%. In work ↓
Unemployment near the middle
11% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns; 3% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022, CSO household income 2022 and the Live Register.
Jobs and income in Ballyjamesduff earn C
Better than 34% of Irish towns on four measures together, #3 of 5 in County Cavan.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
Graded against Irish towns of 1,000 people or more; a shorter trip and less unemployment count in its favor.
How the grade works
Four measures, weighed equally against every Irish town of 1,000 people or more: median gross household income (CSO, 2022), people at work as a share of residents aged 15 to 64, the unemployment rate and the average trip to work, school or college (all three Census 2022). Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Jobs held by Ballyjamesduff’s residents, by industry
Commerce and trade is the second-largest at 18%, against 26% across Irish towns; the smallest of the seven is public administration, at 2.8%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), industry of people at work who live here. Ireland doesn’t publish how many jobs are based in each town, so this shows what residents do, not the jobs here.
65% of working-age people in Ballyjamesduff have jobs
Of the 4 other places of 2,500 people or more in County Cavan, 1 have a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
3% of everyone aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more. Put another way, 44% of the unemployed had been out of work for a year or more. Of all residents aged 15 and over, retirees and students among them, 58% were at work.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS): people at work of any age, over residents aged 15 to 64. The census doesn’t cross work with age, so the few people working past 65 count in the top only.
How much households earn in Ballyjamesduff: €50,360
Before tax, 2022: lower than in 61% of Irish towns.
Ballyjamesduff’s median is 4% below County Cavan’s (€52,321). Of the county’s 4 other towns of 2,500 or more, 2 have a higher median. After tax, the median is €45,257. Across Ireland the median household has €60,123, 19% above Ballyjamesduff’s.
CSO Geographical Profiles of Income in Ireland 2022: median gross household income, from tax and welfare records linked to Census households.
Car-free commutes: 18% of workers in Ballyjamesduff
Walking takes 15% of commuters and cycling 0.7%, where the middle of Irish towns has 10% and 2.4%. Driving dominates: 77% go to work by car or van. The middle of Irish towns has 6% going by bus; here it is 1.3%.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), means of travel to work.
About as much time on the road to work or school from Ballyjamesduff as in the middle of Irish towns
In County Cavan, 2 of 5 towns counted average a shorter trip. The middle of County Cavan has 50% of trips under 15 minutes; here it is 45%. 14% of trips take an hour or more, about the same as in the middle of County Cavan.
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), time taken to travel to work, school or college; the four bands are the shares of trips whose length was stated.
How the count signing on in County Cavan has moved
2,448 people were signing on in County Cavan in September 2026. Set against a year before, the count in September 2026 rose by 1%. It has stayed below its 2019 average for the last 38 months. Its lowest month since 2019 was May 2025, at 2,371. County Cavan saw its highest month in July 2020: 3,676 people signing on, 13% above the 2019 average.
Live Register (CSO LRM07), people signing on at social welfare offices each month. It isn’t an unemployment rate: part-time and seasonal workers sign on too, and offices serve areas that aren’t published. This place has no office of its own name, so the chart is its county’s or city’s.
People signing on each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
How Ballyjamesduff spends its days: 58% of adults in work
Compared with Irish towns, 9.7% are retired (against 15%).
Census 2022 (CSO SAPS), principal economic status of people aged 15 and over; occupations of those at work, in three broad groups.
The Walkability grade for Ballyjamesduff: B
Better than 65% of Irish towns on two measures together, #1 of 5 in County Cavan.
Of the everyday places, a post office is the one the fewest residents have within 800 m (79%).
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), places within 800 m in a straight line of each Census small area; active commuting from Census 2022. OpenStreetMap misses many GP surgeries and bakeries in Ireland, so those two are shown, not graded.
Out of 66 Irish towns of 2,500 to 3,900, Ballyjamesduff comes 41st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annacotty County Limerick | 3,398 | 71% | 6% | €90K | A+ |
| 2 | Grange Upper County Waterford | 2,510 | 71% | 7.4% | €65K | A |
| 3 | Riverstown County Cork | 3,664 | 70% | 5.1% | €83K | A |
| … | ||||||
| 30 | Kingscourt County Cavan | 2,955 | 66% | 9.4% | €55K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 39 | Virginia County Cavan | 3,211 | 68% | 9.2% | €54K | C+ |
| 40 | Mitchelstown County Cork | 3,744 | 67% | 11% | €44K | C+ |
| 41 | Ballyjamesduff County Cavan | 2,917 | 65% | 11% | €50K | C |
| 42 | Ballyfermot County Dublin | 3,632 | 66% | 11% | €49K | C |
| 43 | Kanturk County Cork | 2,803 | 67% | 9.4% | €44K | C |
| … | ||||||
| 55 | Bailieborough County Cavan | 2,974 | 66% | 13% | €47K | C− |
| … | ||||||
| 66 | Mayfield County Cork | 2,846 | 49% | 20% | €38K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of Ballyjamesduff, and others in County Cavan.
Around Ballyjamesduff: jobs, pay and the commute
| Town | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyjamesduff | 65% | 11% | €50K | 26.9 min | C | B |
| Virginia 8.5 km | 68% | 9.2% | €54K | 33 min | C+ | C |
| Oldcastle 10.9 km | 64% | 11% | €46K | 25.6 min | C | B+ |
| Ballinagh 15.4 km | 64% | 13% | €53K | 29.3 min | C− | C |
| Bailieborough 16.1 km | 66% | 13% | €47K | 28 min | C− | C |
| Cavan 17.6 km | 63% | 14% | €48K | 24.5 min | C− | C |
| Mullagh 17.9 km | 62% | 11% | €53K | 34.4 min | D | C− |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and trip times, with both grades.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Ballyjamesduff, where it comes from, and what Ireland doesn’t publish.
- In work. People at work over residents aged 15 to 64 (Census 2022). Graded in place of the share of everyone 15 and over, so a town of retirees isn’t marked down for them.
- Unemployment. Unemployed people (first-job seekers included) over the labour force, from Census 2022.
- Household income. CSO’s median gross household income for 2022. Where CSO publishes no figure for the town, ours is the household-weighted mean of its electoral divisions’ medians, and the page says so.
- Trip times. Census 2022 groups trips to work, school and college by length; the average uses each group’s middle (7.5 to 105 minutes).
- Signing on. The Live Register counts people signing on at a social welfare office, by office and county. It includes part-time and seasonal workers, so it follows a trend; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- Walkability. Four everyday places within 800 m (pharmacy, food shop, school, post office) and the share who walk, cycle or take the bus or train to work. GP surgeries and bakeries are shown, not graded: OpenStreetMap misses many.
- Which towns we compare. Places of 2,500 people or more that aren’t a whole city: towns and city neighbourhoods. Grades start at 1,000 people; ranks at 2,500.
- What isn’t here. Ireland publishes no count of the jobs based in each town and no open table of where commuters go (CSO releases its place-of-work file, POWSCAR, on application only), so this page has no daily tide, commute map or jobs-based-here block. Claimant rates aren’t published for towns either: the Live Register is by office and county.
Questions about work in Ballyjamesduff
What is the unemployment rate in Ballyjamesduff?
11% of the labour force was out of work at the 2022 census, against 9.2% in the middle of Irish towns. 3% of people aged 15 and over had been out of work for a year or more.
Is Ballyjamesduff a good place to find work?
Ballyjamesduff earns a C for jobs and income, better than 34% of Irish towns on household income, the share of 15-to-64s in work, unemployment and trip times together, #3 of 5 in County Cavan.
How do people in Ballyjamesduff get to work?
77% of commuters go by car or van, 15% walk, 0.7% cycle and 1.5% take the bus or train. On census day 2022, 4.9% worked mainly from home.
How long is the commute from Ballyjamesduff?
Trips to work, school or college take 26.9 minutes on average; 14% take an hour or more and 45% under a quarter of an hour.
How many jobs are there in Ballyjamesduff?
Ireland doesn’t publish a count of the jobs based in each town. What the census does say is what Ballyjamesduff’s residents work at, wherever their job is: see What residents work in.
Where do people in Ballyjamesduff work?
Ireland has no open table of where commuters go: CSO releases its place-of-work file (POWSCAR) on application only. The census does give how people from Ballyjamesduff travel and how long their trips take.
Sources: CSO Census 2022 SAPS · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · CSO Live Register (LRM07) · OpenStreetMap (ODbL) · grades: TownRatings. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).