Quarter one of 2010 has revealed a decline in the rate of job losses in Ireland, according to the BOI Economic Research Unit.

By quarter one of 2009, the rate of job losses reached a high of 3.6%. However this figure has remained in an ever decreasing state since, showing a job loss rate of 1.2% by the final quarter of 2009. While increasing unemployment is most certainly bad news for the country, the statistics are showing a drop off in the number becoming unemployed.

We are hearing news of employment gains in some sectors but we can still point the finger at construction as the main contributor to unemployment, with now only 131,000 employees compared to a high of more than double that during our boom times. The construction industry is not alone in suffering losses, as the first quarter of 2010 has shown losses, particularly, in agriculture, administration, support services, and, to a lesser degree, manufacturing.

There have been positives in employment with job creation occurring in places, however it must be said a majority of which are public sector. Quarter one also saw small growth in services jobs in the private sector.

After the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate stands at 12.9% based on information in the Quarterly Household Survey. This figure is down on the earlier estimate for this period of 13.4%, however this figure may be somewhat misleading as the labour force actually declined in number by approximately 14,000 during this time. This decrease in the labour force is due to a desire of younger age categories to study on in an attempt to ride out this recession; while emigration, and those returning to third level education, is no doubt another element contributing to the decrease.

The non-Irish Nationals have been the hardest hit by labour outflows in this recession, dropping by 50,000 in the year to the end of the first quarter of 2010. Unemployment among this group has fallen, as many have left the labour force and, largely, the country also.

With total employment sitting between the 1.8 - 1.9 million mark, Ireland is now back around the level experienced in the middle of 2004. The unemployment level rose from approximately 5% to 12.9% in the last two years, however, with the rate of those becoming unemployed ever decreasing, aggregate job creation may be seen towards the end of the year or early in the next, particularly with the likely return to growth in GDP we may be experiencing.