Hundreds of new jobs have been announced by a number of firms across the country, including 200 in a €41m investment for Drogheda.

The enterprise minister announced 150 new IT jobs in Cork yesterday as the live register fell below 400,000 for the first time since May 2009.

A call centre hopes to immediately hire 50 staff to handle increased growth in its business, which is already dealing with 35,000 customers a week.

SuperValu is to create approximately 400 jobs in the next year, with 200 being generated through two store openings in Kildare and Clare.

CORK is expected to be in line for a major jobs boost later this week with the announcement of the opening of a new private hospital.