Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 5.1%
The unemployment rate remains at 5.1% for July and is unchanged from June.
According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CS0) today, approximately 200 workers entered employment in July, leaving the number of people unemployed nationwide at 120,500.
The unemployment rate has dropped by 1.7% in the last 12 months, and stood at 6.% in July 2017.
In its latest quarterly bulletin, the Central Bank forecasts that the unemployment rate will average at 5.4% for 2018 and 4.8% in 2019, which would be the lowest percentage since January 2007.
In the last decade, the rate of unemployment hit its peak in January and February 2012 as the economy suffered from austerity measures, and the banking and housing sectors continued to struggle with recovery.
The Central Bank predicts that employment growth will gradually moderate in the coming years and that while labour market indications show that the economy is heading towards full employment, capacity is set to tighten.
The bank warned that as we approach full employment, the "the risk remains that the continued strong expansion of the economy could give rise to overheating."
