Economy now adding 1200 jobs per week – Taoiseach and Minister for Jobs

The private sector has been adding on average 1200 jobs per week for the past year, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Jobs said today (Tuesday) at the launch of the Government’s latest jobs report.

CSO statistics published today also show that 22,500 jobs have been added across the country in the past three months; that the unemployment rate has decreased to 12.6% and that the long-term unemployment rate has decreased from 8.9% to 7.6% over the past year.

They were speaking at the publication of the seventh Action Plan for Jobs quarterly progress report, which reports on measures delivered and undelivered during Q3 2013. The system of quarterly progress reports is a key part of the Action Plan for Jobs architecture, ensuring that Government holds itself to account in public on implementation of measures to improve competitiveness and support job-creation, thereby maximising delivery rates.

Out of 122 measures due for implementation during Q3 2013, 102 have been delivered, representing a completion rate of 84%.

Notable among the actions include significant elements of the Disruptive Reform priority measures identified in the 2013 Action Plan, including:

·        JobsPlus – high early take-up, with nearly 500 job matches already made between employers and job-seekers

·        Big Data – technology centre and joint Govt/industry task-force established, two pilot projects identified and further projects being assessed

·        ICT skills – new e-form, waiting times for employment permits reduced by 27%, further improvements expected in Q4

·        Online trading – pilot scheme up and running

Among the impacts of the Action Plan for Jobs so far in 2013 are:

·        Over 6,000 higher education places for unemployed & previously self-employed people via Springboard

·        1650 ICT graduates via Springboard/ ICT graduate conversion programmes

·        Over 2,200 meetings took place at the event with 647 companies participating in the International Markets Week, helping Irish companies increase their business in overseas markets

·        Over 600 people have engaged with the ManagementWorks training and development programmes to help SMEs to improve their performance by building their managerial capability. Companies have reported that this has resulted in over 50 new jobs created and 280 jobs retained

·        400 new jobs for the Water Metering Programme. Will be 2,000 jobs when fully operational

·        580 new jobs created via 19 significant investments in the food and drink sector

·        Visitors to Ireland up by 6.5%, supported by the Tourism Marketing Fund

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD said:

“Creating better conditions for new jobs is our top priority as we approach the exit of Ireland’s bailout next month. I am confident that the implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs has contributed to Ireland’s rising reputation as a location for enterprise and investment. Over 1,000 new jobs are being created every week and there are positive signs that business confidence is rising. There is still much more we have to do before we can claim that Ireland is the best small country in the world for business. We will continue to deliver on the reforms necessary to reduce business costs and to make Ireland more competitive.”

An Tánaiste, Eamon Gilmore TD said:

“The CSO figures are very encouraging. We have had a number of important economic indicators in recent months but today’s figures are the best indicator yet that the recovery of the economy is taking hold. I am particularly encouraged that more than 90% of the jobs created in the last year have been in full-time employment. Nobody should get carried away with one set of figures but we can all take heart from what these figures tell us.”

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said:

“It is now nearly two years since we first launched and started implementing the Action Plan for Jobs, and we are now really starting to see the results. Over seven quarters we have made hundreds of changes across 15 Departments and dozens of Agencies to improve supports for job-creation. When we took office, the economy was shedding well over 1600 jobs a week – today’s figures show that we are now adding more than 1200 per week. All sectors and all areas of the country are benefiting from the positive movement, and we are seeing substantial decreases in both the overall unemployment rate and the long-term rate. While many people are not yet feeling the impact of these changes and we have a long way to go, this is really positive movement in this crucial area. We in Government will continue working hard to improve competitiveness and employment supports and maintain this hugely positive momentum in job-creation”.

The report can be accessed at:  http://www.djei.ie/publications/2013APJ_Third_Progress_Report.pdf