The recent spate of ill-weather may be a real dampener on Irish spirits, but it seems that the Irish economy's prospects are somewhat brighter.
According to a survey by Deloitte, 96 per cent of Ireland's chief financial officers believe that the Irish economy has either returned to growth or will do so later in 2014. Ninety per cent of them are confident that unemployment levels will drop. Indeed, this optimism seems to be supported by figures reported in today's press, with unemployment rate now down to 12.3 per cent - the nineteenth successive month in decline.
This growing sense of confidence bodes well for job seekers as employers increasingly seek to take on new staff.
An Ibec Business Sentiment Survey found that hiring intentions among both domestic and foreign companies had increased significantly.
'The challenge is to keep the positive momentum going,' said Ibec’s Head of Policy and Chief Economist, Fergal O’Brien. 'We must now look to reduce the burden of tax on the economy by reducing personal tax rates in the next budget. We also need to invest more in the future,' he said.
'We still have significant infrastructure gaps that need to be urgently addressed.'
