DUBLIN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's jobless rate has dropped to a record low in over a decade's time.
Statistics released by the Central Statistics Office on Tuesday showed that the August jobless rate in the country stood at 5.6 percent.
This is the lowest jobless rate ever recorded since April 2008, said Alan McQuaid, an economist with local consulting company Merrion Capital.
Ireland's unemployed rate is over two and a half percentage points lower than the current Eurozone average of 8.2 percent, he added.
McQuaid attributed the improvement of the local employment market mainly to the strong recovery of the Irish economy, especially in its construction, accommodation and food service sectors.
Employment rose in ten of the 14 economic sectors on an annual basis in the second quarter of 2018, he said, adding that the employment rates in the construction sector and the accommodation and food service sector were up 13.9 percent and 10.8 percent respectively in the period.
While there has been a sharp drop in the headline unemployment rate, the jobless rate for persons aged 15 to 24 still remained high despite falling to 13.9 percent in August from 14.4 percent in July, he said.
He suggested that the government should focus on the training and education of the young labour forces so as to reduce their jobless rate.
McQuaid said that the rise in employment appears far from over. He predicted a 5.7 percent jobless rate for the whole 2018 as against a 6.7 percent jobless rate in 2017.
