Employment growing at fastest rate in five years
16/02/2006 - 11:39:41The number of people working in Ireland is growing at its fastest rate in five years, according to figures published today by the Central Statistics Office.
The CSO said employment increased by 4.7% in 2005, the highest annual rise since the year 2000, with the strongest growth recorded in the construction, distribution and business services sectors.
Migrant workers account for around half of the 87,000-strong rise in the number of people with jobs and now make up 9% of the Irish labour force.
Despite the positive news, the CSO also said today that the numbers without jobs had increased by 6.7% to 91,300 during 2005, pushing the official unemployment rate up to 4.4%.
