Employers group welcomes employment statistics

Employers group Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) today welcomed Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures which showed that the overall unemployment rate is now down to 4.2%, a five-year low.

Annual employment growth in the last quarter of 2006 was 4.3%, up from 4.2% in the previous quarter.

"Employment growth in the Irish economy continues at an exceptional pace by international standards, with growth of over 4% now recorded in each of the last seven quarters," said IBEC senior economist Fergal O'Brien.

"Employment in the manufacturing sector remains fairly stable, with 3,900 new jobs created in the year to the fourth quarter of 2006. While construction remains one of the dominant sectors, the health and education, and financial services also performed strongly in terms of jobs growth."

The Quarterly National Household Survey figures indicate that there are now more than 300,000 migrants of working age in Ireland - of these around 215,000 are in employment. This represents 10% of the working population.

"Non-nationals are now accounting for over half of employment growth and our future economic performance will be very strongly influenced by our ability to continue to attract labour from overseas," said Mr O’Brien.