The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show 80,000 additional people have been employed in Ireland since the first quarter of 2012, when the Government launched the Action Plan for Jobs.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton welcomed the findings, which show unemployment, at 10.9pc, is at its lowest level since March 2009.
“The plan is working,” Bruton said.
“These official independent jobs figures show that the jobs recovery is deepening and broadening across the country. Virtually every region in the country and virtually every sector of the economy are now showing jobs growth.”
Bruton added that in the early years of the Action Plan for Jobs, exporting sectors were driving jobs growth, but now as the recovery takes hold, the domestic economy is showing the strongest results.
“Regions of the country which have faced difficulty in recent years are now showing strong employment growth – with the border, west, mid-west, south-west and south-east showing the strongest jobs results in the past quarter,” Bruton said.
“These figures give us further confidence that if we stick with the plan, we can ensure that people’s sacrifices are not wasted, and that we can deliver a consistent, sustainable jobs recovery right across the country over the coming years.”
