Irish full-time employment fell by 193,200 on an annual basis in 2009 with declines in both male (-152,500) and female (-40,800). The unemployment rate rose to 13.1% according to the Central Statistics Office today.
The largest decreases in full-time employment occurred in the Construction (-84,700), Industry (-33,000) and Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (-28,500) sectors. Each of these sectors showed a small increase in part-time employment: Construction (+5,100), Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (+3,800) and Industry (+3,200).
There was an increase of 26,400 in the numbers employed part-time, with male part-time employment increasing 25,300 over the year while female part-time employment was almost static, increasing by 1,000 over the same period. There were 1,887,700 persons in Irish employment (full and part-time) in the fourth quarter of 2009, an annual decrease of 166,900 or 8.1%. This compares with an annual decrease in employment of 8.8% in the previous quarter and a decline of 3.9% in the year to the fourth quarter of 2008. There was an annual decrease of 127,200 or 11.1% in the number of men in employment, while the number of women in employment decreased by 39,600 or 4.3%.
