Jobless, consumer confidence figures revised upward by Davy

Employment has increased for the whole year for the first time since 2008, according to the Quarterly National Household survey released this week.

The positive news prompted Davy stockbrokers’ chief economist Conall MacCoille to revise upwards their forecast for jobs and consumer spending in 2013.

The unemployment rate fell to 14.2% in the fourth quarter and looks set to drop further this year, official data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday, in a positive sign that signals the green shoots of a recovery may be winning the battle against the icy frost of austerity.