Employment figures put economy on firm footing

Labour market figures published by the CSO last week for the final quarter of 2014 contained further good news on the Irish economy, writes Oliver Mangan.

The data show the recovery in the economy is continuing to generate solid job growth with falling unemployment. It is also beginning to result in a pick-up in wages.

Employment rose by 10,000 or 0.5% in quarter four, following a rise of 11,000 or 0.6% in the third quarter. On a year-on-year basis, employment was up by almost 30,000, or 1.5%. Full-time employment actually rose by 40,000 or 2.7% over the past year, with a decrease of 10,000 in part-time jobs. This shows that as the economic recovery gathers strength, more and more people are able to move out of part-time employment and into full-time jobs.