Huge upswing in business sentiment

The business landscape is improving rapidly with a dramatic increase in companies looking to increase staff levels and expand over the next year, according to a new survey.

The EY Capital Confidence Barometer, which is conducted twice a year, shows 70% of Irish companies that responded to the survey expect to create jobs over the next year, which is up 20% from the 50% level shown in the same survey last April.

A total of 89% of companies expect corporate earnings to increase over the next year, which is up 18% from last April.