Minister Kitt welcomes latest employment figures
Government Chief Whip and Minister of State, Mr. Tom Kitt, T.D., today welcome the latest CSO figures, which show an employment increase of almost 90,000 or 4.7% in the first quarter of 2006.
The Minister remarked: ‘These figures continue to show strong employment growth and provide a robust endorsement of the Government’s pro-jobs policies. We have one of the highest participation rates in the EU and our unemployment rate of 4.4% is one of lowest.
The Minister added that while unemployment was up slightly it was heartening to see that long-term unemployment was decreasing
Minister Kitt concluded: ‘The Irish economy continues to perform remarkably well, notwithstanding some considerable uncertainty on the international scene. The challenge ahead is to remain vigilant on the competitiveness front, in order to maintain the major gains of recent years and create new advantages for this economy and society’
Ends
31st May 2006