The rate of unemployment remained unchanged at 3.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year according to the latest Quarterly National Household Survey published today.
There were 65,400 persons unemployed in the three months to June 30th, almost unchanged from the previous quarter. Overall the labour force increased by 36,300 to reach 1,781,900 in the second quarter.
Employment grew in the past year in most sectors with the exception of agriculture, forestry and fishing which fell by 10,800. The fall in employment in catering of 4,200 can be attributed to the foot-and-mouth outbreak earlier in the year.
The fastest growing employment sector was construction which grew by 13,900. Other sectors which reported strong jobs growth were retail/wholesale (up 12,000) and education and health (up 10,500).
The latest figures for all EU countries show that between the second quarters of 1999 and 2000 Irish employment grew by 5 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent in the EU as a whole.