Irish Auctioneers Lisney have revealed that around 20,000 jobs will be lost in the construction industry within the next year.

This is in contrast to Davy Stockbrokers forecast that 35,000 jobs will be lost to the economy.

Lisney's Head of Research John McCartney said that new data from the Central Statistics Office, which have not been published, say that house building accounts for a smaller proportion of construction employment than previously estimated.

"It follows that fewer jobs will be lost when housing output falls over the next 18 months. This factor reduces forecast job losses by up to 9,000," Mr McCartney said.

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"A detailed analysis of the non-residential construction pipeline indicates that growth in commercial, infrastructure and repair/maintenance/improvement building will create over 30,000 new jobs on aggregate.

"This will provide a stronger counterbalance to house-building job losses than previously estimated," he said.

He went on to say these new forecasts could have far-reaching implications.

"A difference of 15,000 jobs may seem insignificant. However, there is a multiplier effect insofar as every extra construction job creates additional employment in other sectors.

"Our findings indicate that construction industry performance may surprise to the upside. Given that building currently accounts for 21 per cent of GNP, this implies that overall economic growth may also enjoy a better outcome than currently estimated," he concluded.

(JM)