The latest employment data for the construction industry provides one of the clearest indications yet of a major slowdown in the sector.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show employment in private construction firms fell by 6.4 per cent last year.
The CSO's monthly employment index decreased from 105.0 in December, 2006 to 98.3 in December, 2007.
The final figure for November, 2007 also showed a decrease of 5.3 per cent when compared with November, 2006.
The data comes in the wake of figures from the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), published earlier this week, which show a significant decline in house registrations in the month of January.
The number of building guarantee registrations dropped to 1,430 last month compared to 3,776 national housing registrations for January, 2007.