Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that employment levels have now grown for 25 consecutive quarters, with the level of employment in the country now at its highest ever level. The number of people employed in the third quarter of 2018 rose by 3% (66,700) relative to the same quarter in 2017, to a total of 2,273,200. North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea said the figures confirm the continued strength of the labour market.
The increase in employment remains broad based with annual gains across most sectors and regions recorded by the CSO, with 67.5% of jobs being created outside Dublin between Q3 of 2017 and 2018. Full-time employment increased by 44,200 (2.5%) over the same period. The latest results mean the government remain on track to achieve its target of creation of an additional 200,000 jobs by 2020.
Commenting on the latest figures, Cllr. O’Shea said: “There are now more people employed in Ireland than ever before, which is evidence that the economy is performing well and that Government policy is working. In terms of unemployment, it is continuing to fall with the unemployment rate reaching 5.5% in October, the lowest rate since the beginning of 2008. Encouragingly, we are also seeing decline in long-term employment.”
