Economy to grow but without jobs

THE Irish economy will grow this year and next as the global economy slows but will not result in any meaningful employment growth here, according to Ulster Bank.

Ulster Bank’s chief economist in the Republic, Simon Barry, does not see an immediate boost for employment as the economy grows by 0.3% this year, down from his earlier estimate of 0.5%.

Mr Barry said: “The high levels of unemployment have already resulted in substantial falls in consumer spending. The outlook for the labour market is for continued weakness, with employment levels expected to fall further during the remaining months of this year, with some modest improvement in conditions in 2012.”