IRELAND CAN HAVE full employment by the end of 2018, Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has said.
The government minister made the claim as Enterprise Ireland announced its best year for job creation since the agency was formed in 1998.
Some 19,705 new jobs were created in Enterprise Ireland-backed companies in 2014, while 11,229 were lost – a net gain of 8,476.
Bruton today said it was now a “realistic” ambition that the country would be in full employment by 2018 based on the growth in both domestic firms and multinational investment.
“I think on the back of this performance, and the performance of the IDA, we can look confidently forward that we have the capacity now in Ireland to create full employment by the end of 2018,” he said.
Full employment is the the largest number of jobs an economy can support including workers who are between roles but still actively looking for work.
That would mean a jobless rate of about 5%, which compares to the current unemployment level of 10.6%.
Big year for IT and food startups
Enterprise Ireland, which works with domestic exporters, said in its end-of-year statement that over 180,000 people were now employed in companies it supported.
IT software and services was the industry which gained the most jobs in 2014 for the second year running, while the food sector added the highest number of positions on record.
Other highlights from the statement include:
The IDA, the semi-state agency charged with attracting multinationals to Ireland, last week reported a bumper year for job creation, although it admitted it was falling well short of its regional-development targets.
- Originally posted at 12.53pm
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