Invest now to strengthen the recovery - Managing economic growth

IT must seem some sort of a miracle that the European Commission is able to suggest that this economy will grow by six per cent this year, the fastest growth rate expected in the European Union. That optimism extends to 2016 when the EC anticipates growth of around 4.5%. 

That this rate has been achieved just seven years after the greatest economic collapse of modern times, possibly even in the life of this Republic, is truly remarkable.

Even our Government’s most ardent critics, and their criticisms are often justified, must acknowledge the scale of this turnaround and the great relief it brings to the national psyche. Yesterday’s figures showing that the number of unemployed people signing on the Live Register fell by 4,400 last month, a decline of 1.3% over September, can only add to that uplifting momentum. There were 332,200 people on the register at the end of October as against 336,600 for the previous month and in unadjusted terms 320,794 people signed on, down 10.6% on October 2014. The EC predicts this trend will continue suggesting that unemployment will fall to 8.7% next year and hit 7.9% a year later. This may not be a recovery on a par with Lazarus’ spectacular rejuvenation but it is certainly one that was unimaginable even a few years ago.