Archive for January 2023

The unemployment rate declined marginally in December to 4.3% from 4.4% in November, according to the Central Statistics Office. This compares to a rate of 5.1% in December 2021. It’s also lower than the 4.8% recorded in December 2019, before the pandemic. The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 114,500 in December last year,…

Interest rates on new mortgages remained unchanged in November, according to the latest figures from the Central Bank. The weighted average rate on new mortgages was 2.57%. This is down 14 basis points, or 0.14% compared to November 2021. The average for new fixed rate mortgages, which now comprise 93% of all new mortgages, was…

The EU and UK have reached an agreement on EU access to UK IT systems governing the movement of goods from Britain to Northern Ireland in what is seen as a significant development in the ongoing talks over the Northern Ireland Protocol. The agreement was announced following a meeting between the British foreign secretary James…

New figures from Kantar show that grocery inflation here now stands at a record high of 15.4% for the 12-week period ending December 25, 2022. Kantar said this is higher than UK grocery price inflation which currently stands at 14.2%. Today’s figures show that take-home grocery sales in Ireland increased by 10% in the four…

The number of people employed at firms backed by Enterprise Ireland (EI) rose 5% last year to 218,178, despite the difficult trading environment. It said 10,841 net new roles were created over the 12 months, down slightly on the record 11,911 jobs added a year previously. In total, 19,660 positions were generated by companies supported…

Retail sales volumes in November declined from the previous month as increases in sales of clothing and electrical goods failed to offset sharp falls in the bar and car sales. New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that retail sales fell by 1.4% in November when compared with October on a seasonally adjusted basis.…

Irish job posts offering remote and hybrid work have increased by 43% over the last 12 months according to a new study. The report has been published by Zoom in collaboration with FRS Recruitment. A snapshot of hybrid and remote work opportunities advertised between October 2021 and October 2022 shows that 33% of all job…

Euro zone inflation fell by more than expected last month but underlying price pressures rose, making it likely the European Central Bank will continue raising interest rates for months to come. Consumer price growth in the bloc that expanded to 20 nations when Croatia joined on 1 January, slowed to 9.2% in December from 10.1%…

The Central Statistics Office has published an online compilation of significant statistics about the economy and business recorded last year. The report notes that inflation reached a 38 year high in 2022, with the annual rate peaking at 9.2% in October before falling slightly in November. This was based on big increases in energy prices…

Euro zone producer prices fell month-on-month as expected in November, the EU’s statistics office said today, pulled down by falling costs of energy. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said prices at factory gates in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.9% month-on-month for a 27.1% year-on-year rise. The monthly fall was mainly due…