Number of Irish people employed at highest levels since 2009

The number of people employed in Ireland has reached its highest levels since 2009, according to new figures from the Quarterly National Household Survey.
 
There were 31,600 more people employed in the State in Q2 2014 compared with the same quarter in the previous year, an increase of 1.7 per cent.
 
In total, the number of people now full-time employed stands at 1.9 million. Meanwhile, unemployment decreased by 46,200 or 15.4 per cent in the year to Q2 2014, bringing the total number of unemployed down to 254,500.
 
The figures represent the eighth quarter in a row in which unemployment in Ireland has fallen on an annual basis. The State’s official jobless rate fell from 12 per cent to 11.5 per cent, its lowest level since the final quarter of 2009.
 
The State’s long-term unemployment rate also fell from 8.1 per cent to 6.8 per cent in the second quarter. Long-term unemployment now accounts for 57.6 per cent of total unemployment in Ireland compared with 58.2 per cent a year earlier and 61.8 per cent in 2012.
 
The survey indicated employment growth – an important measure of economic health – increased by 0.2 per cent or 4,300 in Q2 2014.
 
This represents a very marginal improvement on the 0.1 per cent growth experienced in the first quarter of the year, and is significantly down on the rates of employment growth recorded in 2013.

Date published 26 Aug 2014 | Last updated 26 Aug 2014