Up to 60,000 people 'may be frozen out' from Ireland's strong jobs recovery from Covid

A very strong rebound in employment following the Covid crisis may yet leave up to 60,000 people stranded, a leading economist has warned.

Austin Hughes, chief economist at KBC Bank Ireland, said the latest CSO survey showed that the recovery was rapid but that big differences between sectors remained.  

"Today’s jobs data confirm that the Irish economy is now seeing a strong and broadening rebound in activity that is underpinning jobs growth," Mr Austin said. 

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"The economic and social risks of significant numbers, possibly 50,000 to 60,000, being frozen out of the recovery may be materially larger than those of the Irish economy overheating," he said, referring to Ireland's population growth that means the State has to create a large number of jobs "just to stand still". 

The CSO Labour Force Survey for the months to the end of June showed that adjusted unemployment level of 413,687 people, or 16.2%. The adjusted level fell to 356,648, or 13.5%, in July and then to 335,178, or 12.4%, in August, the CSO said. 

Mr Hughes said Ireland's employment recovery was "now broadly similar to that elsewhere but a much faster pace of population and labour force growth implies the risk remains of larger and more long-lasting damage than for some other economies".