Employment growth in Ireland is expected to remain among the highest in the OCED, according to the organisation's latest annual employment outlook.

The State is projected to boost job numbers by 1.4 per cent this year and 1.6 per cent next year, well ahead of most developed economies.

Overall, however, the OECD warns that ageing populations in the world's richer countries pose challenges to future economic growth and living standards.

It says the average hours worked by each country's citizens has declined significantly in countries such as France, Germany, Japan and Britain over the past generation.

This average is regarded as a useful way of calculating the burden that the non-working population - the retired, children and the jobless included - is putting on those in work. The measure adds up the hours worked in the economy and divides that by the number of inhabitants.

France is at the bottom of the league for the average amount of working hours.

The average French person works only 611 hours a year - a decline of more than 20 per cent since 1970. By contrast, the average South Korean puts in 1,120 hours.

Mr John Martin, director for employment, labour and social affairs at the OECD, suggested that generally countries at the top of the table "have come closer to grappling with the ageing problem" - and that countries at the bottom of the league had more work to do.

Ireland ranks just below the OECD average on this measure, with the growth of part-time working lowering the figure.

The report says US labour costs will rise strongly next year as its economy gains ground while the growth rate for euro zone labour costs will ease fractionally.