Number in work up for first time since 2008

Employment is growing for the first time since 2008, although jobless data will remain stubbornly high for the foreseeable future, says employers’ group Ibec.

The study claimed the jobs market was stabilising, with future growth likely to be driven by the private sector.

It found that 5,030 new jobs were announced in the first quarter of 2013, on the back of an improved performance last year, which saw the first annual rise in employment since the start of the economic downturn.