Press release
Ministers Donohoe and Humphreys welcome CSO figures showing 1,200 jobs created each week in 2018
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
Labour Force Survey (LFS) data published today (Tuesday) by the CSO show continued momentum in the labour market, with 63,400 net new jobs created in 2018, an average of 1,200 jobs per week. There were 2,281,300 people employed in Ireland in the fourth quarter of last year, a new record.
Welcoming the figures, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD said:
“I am pleased to see further positive developments in Ireland’s labour market. The number of people at work continues to increase, with 63,400 additional jobs created over the course of last year, a 2.9 per cent increase on 2017. The number of people at work has also reached a new all-time high, with 2,281,300 people now in employment in Ireland. I am particularly encouraged that nearly all of the jobs gains in the final quarter of the year were full-time jobs.
“We have now seen 26 consecutive quarters of employment growth and, crucially, that growth remains broad-based, with annual gains recorded in most sectors and regions. In parallel, unemployment continues to fall, with the unemployment rate reaching 5.7 per cent in January, the lowest rate since the beginning of 2008. Despite the challenges ahead, this is further evidence that the economy continues to perform well, that Government policy is working, and that growth remains jobs-rich.
“We are moving into the next phase of Ireland’s economic development and the Government is well aware that there is no room for complacency. Our labour market policies will increasingly focus on raising the participation rate, boosting productivity and safeguarding the competitiveness gains we have made in recent years. Increasingly our focus should not only be on job creation but also on the sustainability, quality and productivity of jobs in the future. The Government’s forthcoming Future Jobs Ireland 2019 strategy will establish specific actions and targets for sustainable economic growth and job creation, to ensure that Ireland’s labour market, and indeed the wider economy, are fully equipped to deal with emerging challenges.”
Minister for Business Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys TD said:
“I warmly welcome the latest Labour Force Survey release from the Central Statistics Office. With 200,500 new jobs created since the start of 2016, we have not only met but exceeded our target of 200,000 new jobs by 2020.
“We are also well on track to meeting the Government’s regional goal for 2020, with nearly 133,000 of a targeted 135,000 jobs created outside Dublin as of Q4 2018. This consistent improvement is reflective of the success of our annual Action Plans for Jobs, and this strong momentum will be carried on through the new Future Jobs Ireland initiative, which I will publish with the Taoiseach and Ministerial colleagues next week.
“I am also in the process of publishing 9 new Regional Enterprise Plans for the country, which have been developed by regional stakeholders from the ground up with the support of my Department. I am confident that these new plans will help to embed the successes of recent years while also addressing any vulnerabilities within individual regions.”
ENDS
The participation rate is defined as the number of persons in the labour force expressed as a percentage of the total population aged 15 or over. In the fourth quarter of 2018, the participation rate stood at 62.2 per cent, below the pre-crisis peak figure of 66.6 per cent (annual average in 2007).