Bruton: 58,000 extra jobs created in 2013

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton said there has been a strong performance when it comes to job creation this year.

Minister Bruton said 58,000 extra jobs were created in the past 12 months.

There are concerns over the future of the pharmaceutical sector in Ireland after hundreds of job losses were announced at Pfizer, MSD and Baxter in recent weeks.

But speaking to Newstalk this morning, Minister Bruton says we're winning more than we're losing.

"Well, the number is 58,000, and if you look just at the private sector it's 62,000 - to put that in perspective, it's 4% growth in private sector employment.

"It's a truly strong performance.

"And even in the pharmaceutical sector there's growth - so while there are challenges in that sector and we are going through a difficult time, we're winning more than we are losing and there has been strong investment in that sector, for example in biopharma."