SFA: 23,545 jobs lost this year

The Small Firms Association (SFA) today said that the number of redundancies in the economy is spiralling out of control, with 23,545 jobs lost to date in 2008, a 36% increase compared to last year.

The Other Services sector continues to be the hardest hit, with 7,148 and 30% of all jobs lost to date in 2008.

Director of the SFA Patricia Callan said: “These figures should serve as a wake-up call that good quality jobs are going to the wall in all sectors of the economy and across all regions, due to the cost pressures that small businesses find themselves under. It is time the government and the unions realise that our best chance of surviving this economic downturn, is to moderate our expectations, reduce cost pressures on small businesses in all areas and trade our way out of this downturn”.

28% of jobs have been lost respectively in the Manufacturing sector (at 6,588), and Building & Civil Engineering (at 6,513).

A regional comparison shows that more than 37% of all jobs lost were in Dublin, followed by Cork, Galway, and Limerick with job losses of 2147, 1430 and 1140 respectively.

Males suffered some 68% of all job losses, with the balance of 32% by females. These figures differ from the trend in 2007, which showed just 61% males losing jobs and 39% females.