Ibec predicts 50,000 new jobs in 2017

As many as 50,000 jobs will be created in the country this year, employers group Ibec has predicted.

It has argued that the “exceptional jobs surge, coupled with tax cuts, wage growth and limited inflation” will boost consumer spending.

However, it warned that Brexit, formally triggered last week by the UK government, will weaken export growth.

Ibec, which released its latest quarterly economic outlook yesterday, expects the economy to grow by 3.1% this year and 2.8% in 2018.

The business employers’ group pointed out that the economy is now growing at its fastest rate since 2007, with employment outside the construction sector now back at pre-crisis levels. Short-term unemployment is now back at levels last seen in early 2006.

“We predict that an additional 50,000 jobs will be created again this year,” said Fergal O’Brien, Ibec’s director of policy and public affairs. “This exceptional jobs surge, coupled with tax cuts, wage growth and limited inflation, bodes well for consumer spending. Investment growth will also be high, at 14.8%, due to the resurgence of the construction sector.”

But Brexit and US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ protectionist stance are a “cause for concern” for Irish businesses, said Mr O’Brien.