Against a backdrop of recent job cuts in other industries, employment growth in the construction industry is still going strong.

According to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), employment in private construction firms (with more than five employees) rose by 2.3 per cent in January this year when compared to the same month in 2006.

The CSO compiles a monthly employment index for the building sector, and noted that the index reading was 108.1 in January 2006. This reading increased to 110.6 in the first month of 2007.

A 2.3 per cent increase in employment in the building sector was also recorded last December. Figures available for the full year show that the average monthly increase in employment in 2006 was 2.4 per cent.

According to provisional figures published by the CSO, the average weekly earnings of clerical and operative employees in the building sector rose by 2.9 per cent last December to just below €800. However, the average hours worked per week by such workers increased by 1.1 per cent to almost 45 hours.