Foras Áiseanna Saothair (FÁS), Ireland's National Training and Employment Authority, recently published its Quarterly Labour Market Commentary. The report highlighted the decline in demand for construction workers in Ireland.

The Irish labour market has continued to deliver a strong rate of employment growth of just under 4% (+77,000 jobs) and a low level of unemployment with the long-term unemployment rate falling to an historical low of 1.2% in the first quarter of 2007. However, the rate of employment growth has begun to moderate.

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In short, two contrasting trends seem to be emerging; the demand for service workers has remained strong but the demand for construction workers has weakened.

The positive economic outlook augurs well for jobs growth this year, with employment forecast to increase by 60,000 (+3%) to almost 2.1 million. While employment growth is forecast to moderate significantly in 2008 to just over 1%, an extra 23,000 jobs are still expected.

The majority of the new jobs growth for the 2007-2008 period will come from the services sector (+70,000). Employment in the construction sector on the other hand is expected to fall by around 15,000 over the next 18 months as employer demand responds to a lower level of housing output.

FÁS economist Brian McCormick said: “The labour market has begun a transition from a period of high employment growth to a more moderate rate of job creation. While job losses in the construction sector seem inevitable as housing output declines, an increasing emphasis on housing quality will soften the negative impact on employment.”

(LC)