SFA: Spread of econmonic growth 'uneven'
The Small Firms Association has said that the economic outlook for the remainder of 2005 and into 2006 remains positive, but the spread of the economic growth is uneven. `
In its winter statement it reported that while economic growth remains strong many companies in exposed sectors are reporting business prospects as “flat”.
Pay increases of 5.4% continue to rise faster than in other EU countries but are not been offset by rising productivity in the indigenous sector which is stalled at 2.6%.
According to SFA Director Pat Delaney: “The result is that Irish business is now finding itself in direct competition with firms from newly industrializing countries with much lower costs and increasing technical capability.
"This has contributed to a further decline in manufacturing employment which will fall for the fifth successive year in 2005. The expected annualised loss of 10,000 manufacturing jobs in 2005 will bring the cumulative total of job losses in the sector beyond 40,000 since 2002.
"Furthermore, notified redundancies throughout the economy in the year to date suggest that the annual figure for 2005 will be in the region of 25,000. This level of redundancies will undermine much of the positive effect of job creation in the private sector, which we expect to be in the region of 61,000.”
