Number of people working rises by record 72,400

THE number of people employed rose by a record 72,400 in the past year - and more than half of these were women, according to the Central Statistics Office.

This is the highest rise in employment since the end of 2000 - bringing the total number of people working here to 1,908,300 at the end of March.

One of the main reasons for this massive growth in employment is the return to the workplace of women who have reared their families, said Goodbody Stockbrokers’ economist Philip O’Sullivan.