80,000 more people at work, an increase in full time jobs

Fine Gael TD for Tipperary Noel Coonan has welcomed the latest official CSO employment figures which indicate that growth in the economy is spreading across the regions and that more people are now in full-time employment.

“Since the launch of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs in 2012, 80,000 more people are at work. In the last year alone, 27,700 entered the jobs market, with 94% of those securing full-time employment. It is extremely positive to see that people are not only getting work, but also that this work is full-time,” said Deputy Coonan.

“The economy is growing and more people are starting to feel its benefit.  Today’s figures confirm that employment increased in seven out of eight regions over the past quarter, with strongest increases in the West, the Border counties and the South East. Now that regions outside of the capital are beginning to benefit from the economic recovery, I expect that this growth will continue, including in County Tipperary.

“The unemployment rate has fallen to 10.9%. It is still too high but due to the hard work and sacrifice of the Irish people, things are moving steadily in the right direction. This Government is working to build a sustainable economy and the fact that job increases are particularly strong in the domestic economy in areas such as construction and retail means we are driving a home-grown recovery,” continued Deputy Coonan.

“Today’s figures confirm again that the plan this Government has adopted is working, but there is more to do. We want to ensure that people across the country are better off as a result of the improvement in the economy. Following changes announced in Budget 2015, everyone who pays tax or the universal social charge will benefit.

“This Government is pursuing a policy of job creation and of making work pay. Our goal is to ensure that there are job opportunities in all regions of the country and that people who take up these positions are better off,” concluded the Tipperary TD.