Bank of Ireland Job Index up 11 points for August

- Strong growth in manufacturing recruitment

The number of jobs advertised in the national daily and Sunday newspapers in August this year was up by 10% from the previous month according to the Bank of Ireland Business Banking Job Index published today (Thursday 4 September 2003). This represents an 11-point rise, which in turn was 5 points up on June - the first time this year that the Index has shown increased recruitment advertising for two consecutive months.

The positive trend confirms the resilience in the Irish labour market as reported recently in the Quarterly Household Survey which recorded an acceleration in employment growth over the second quarter, with annual job growth rising to 28,400.

The number of jobs advertised in the manufacturing sector is now at the highest level recorded since the Index began in March 2002, while the numbers in both the construction and leisure sectors are just marginally off their highest point over the same period. Comparing all jobs advertised in August with the same month last year, each of these sectors is also showing growth - Manufacturing +132%, Construction +4% and Leisure +38%.

Despite evidence of strong growth in some sectors, the total number of jobs advertised last month was down marginally by 5% on August 2002 due to substantial reductions in certain sectors, primarily - IT/Tech (-41%), financial (-54%) and education (-28%).

Commenting on the Job Index, Mr Tom Comerford, Director of Business Banking, Bank of Ireland, said, "Some of the trends in the Job Index are very encouraging, particularly the continued growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors. This reflects our recent experience in lending demand and gives cause for optimism for the economy generally in the medium term.

Dr Dan McLaughlin, Chief Group Economist, Bank of Ireland, said, Despite recent disappointing news in the manufacturing sector, Bank of Ireland's latest Jobs index shows a substantial upturn in manufacturing recruitment. The construction sector continues to show a steady annual increase, which is consistent with official CSO jobs data, and the leisure sector has also picked up, again in line with the Household survey. However, there is no sign as yet of a rebound in I.T. recruitment and recruitment is also falling in financial services. Overall recruitment ads in the three months to August were 5% down on a year earlier, although for the private sector the fall was only 3%, because recruitment in education is now falling relative to 2002, implying that the Government's policy of capping public sector numbers is biting"

The Job Index is a timely measure of sectoral demand for labour in the Irish economy. Using Central Bank classification of sectors, the index tracks the number of jobs advertised in the Irish daily and Sunday newspapers.

Ends

4 September 2003

Contact:
Anne Mathews
Media Relations Manager
Ph. 01 604 3836
Mob: 087 246 0358

Liam D'Arcy
Marketing Executive
Bank of Ireland Business Banking
01 604 3713

AUGUST JOB INDEX

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