Ireland’s ‘macroeconomic fundamentals’ are strong, says NCPC
The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council has said that overall the country’s “macroeconomic fundamentals” are strong. In its Competitiveness Scorecard report, published every three years, the council found that Ireland scores well on education and skills, but comparatively worse when it comes to transport and housing. Ireland has the second highest share of workers with […]
ECB raises rates by 0.25% and signals ‘not pausing’
The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.25% as expected today and signalled that more tightening would be needed to tame inflation. The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro has lifted rates by a combined 375 basis points since last July, its fastest pace of tightening. […]
Unemployment falls to match previous record low of 3.9% – CSO
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the country’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April from a revised 4% a month earlier to match the previous record low of the early 2000s. The jobless rate had remained between 4.2% and 4.5% over the last year, according to recent CSO figures. But the […]
ECB expected to increase interest rates for 7th time
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank meets in Frankfurt today where it is widely expected to increase interest rates for the seventh time since it began raising rates last summer. The ECB’s base deposit rate is currently 3%. Market analysts are divided over whether the bank will increase rates today by another half […]
Irish services activity expands rapidly in April
The latest AIB Services Business Activity Index grew from 55.7 to 58.4 during the month, well above the 50 threshold separating growth from contraction. It was the twenty-sixth consecutive month of expansion and the most pronounced in 11 months. “It points to a robust rate of growth in services activity,” said Oliver Mangan, Chief Economist […]
Weekly wages down €76 due to inflation – Unite
There has been a €76 drop in real weekly wages over the past two years due to rising inflation, according to new research from the Unite trade union. It shows that the real median wage in Ireland, adjusted for the impact of inflation, has fallen from €976 per week to €900 per week, since the […]
Irish Residential Properties REIT’s Q1 revenue up 4.9%
The country’s largest private residential landlord, Irish Residential Properties REIT, saw its revenue increase by 4.9% in the first three months of the year, driven by additions to its portfolio and stable rent collections. In a trading update for the three months to the end of March, it said that occupancy levels at its properties […]
Fear of losing money the biggest barrier to investing
Fear of losing money is the biggest barrier to people investing (67%), according to a survey by Bank of Ireland which also revealed low levels of investment knowledge. Other respondents were afraid of having their money tied up for years (36%), while 34% felt they didn’t have enough money to invest. Bernard Walsh, Head of […]
Number of homes provided by approved housing bodies grew by 10% – report
The number of homes provided by approved housing bodies grew by 10% last year, according to the latest report from the Irish Council for Social Housing. It amounts to almost 5,000 new social and cost rental homes – surpassing its target of 40% of total social housing delivery. The Government did, however, miss its own […]
Weak demand hits production in manufacturing sector
The downturn across Ireland’s manufacturing sector deepened at the start of the second quarter of the year amid a sharper contraction in factory production and a sustained decline in new orders. According to the AIB Irish Manufacturing PMI for April, with the headline index falling to 48.6 from 49.7 in March and 51.3 in February. […]
Organisations wanted for four-day working week trial
Recruitment for a new four-day working week pilot programme has been launched today to coincide with International Workers’ Day. Companies and organisations of all sizes from every sector are encouraged to join the trial which will be based on the ‘100-80-100 model’ where workers get 100% of their pay, for 80% of the time, in […]
18% drop in corporate property investment in first quarter
Corporate property investment fell by 18% in the first quarter, as foreign investors paused their activity, new research has claimed. In total, €625m was invested in the Irish market during the initial three months of the year, with US investor interest in the market here easing. They injected €14.75m during between January and March, according […]
Q1 GDP fell 2.7% on a quarterly basis, preliminary estimate shows
The country’s gross domestic product fell by 2.7% on a quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2023 but stood 6.4% higher than a year ago, a preliminary estimate reading from the Central Statistics Office shows today. The Government has long cautioned against using GDP to accurately measure economic growth as it is routinely inflated […]
IMF urges European central banks to kill inflation ‘beast’ with rate hikes
The International Monetary Fund has today urged European central banks to “kill the beast” of inflation by pursuing interest rate hikes. “You need to go and kill that beast” the IMF’s European department director Alfred Kammer told reporters in Stockholm. He said “history is littered” with examples of policymakers who pause rate hikes only to […]
New mortgage drawdowns fell by a third in first quarter – BPFI
The volume and value of new mortgages drawn down in the first three months of this year fell by around a third, compared to the final three months of last year. According to new data from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, 10,908 new home loans worth €2.87 billion were issued by lenders. The BPFI […]
Significant improvement in consumer sentiment in April
Consumer sentiment has improved significantly this month as negativity about the economy and household finances subsided, new data has found.The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index rose to its best level in 13 months, reversing the 1.7-point decline seen between February and March.Author of the commentary, economist Austin Hughes, said the rise means a clear if […]
VC investment into Irish firms plummeted 57% in the first quarter
Venture capital investment into Irish firms plummeted 57% between January and March, compared to the same period last year. Irish businesses raised $172.8m during the period through 24 deals, down from the 25 worth $401m in the first three months of last year. Rising interest rates, high inflation, worries about the banking system and the […]
Economic concerns cause job ads to drop 20% in first quarter
Job vacancies fell 20% in the first three months of the year when compared to the same period in 2022, according to hiring platform IrishJobs. In comparison to the last three months of last year, the number of job ads was down 6%. Despite the apparent softening of the market though, the number of vacancies […]