Jobless rate could fall below 10% in 2015

The national unemployment rate could fall below 10% for the first time in six years in 2015, Ibec has forecast.

In its latest quarterly economic outlook published yesterday, the employers’ group said that the unemployment rate, which has been slowly decreasing since the beginning of 2012, should drop to 10.9% this year (down from 13% at the end of 2013) and fall further to 9.6% by the end of 2015. The last time the rate was in single digits was 2009.

Ibec also expects a significant improvement in export performance this year. After sluggish growth of just 1.1%, in 2013, the body expects exports to grow by almost 5% this year and by just over 4% in 2015.