Irish jobless rate beats EU average

Ireland’s unemployment rate is better than the eurozone average for the first time since 2008, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat, the European Commission’s data service.

The number of young people out of work, at 26%, is still higher than the average but half what it is in Greece and Spain.

But while the figures show that the percentage out of work in the euro area at 12% has not increased over the past three months, employment commissioner László Andor described it as “dire”.