Thousands of women are returning to the labour force, or seeking work for the first time, according to the latest assessment of the jobs market by Fás.
Women in the 20-24 and 45-54 age brackets in particular entered the labour force last year in large numbers, the jobs agency says in a quarterly commentary to be published today.
The increase in female participation, combined with the continued rise in immigration, could help to raise the labour force to two million by the end of the year.
The labour force comprises those who are in jobs or are available for work.
The Fás commentary reveals that just over half of females aged over 15 are now at work or seeking employment, following a substantial increase in 2004.
The number of women in the labour force aged from 45 to 54 increased by 10,700, while the number of participants aged from 20 to 24 increased by more than 6,000.
Fás economist Brian McCormick, who compiled the commentary, said yesterday it was likely that many of the younger women entering the labour force were migrant workers.
Those in the middle-aged bracket were more likely to be Irish women becoming available for work after raising children. It remained to be seen whether the increase in female participation in the labour force was the beginning of a trend or just a quarterly phenomenon, he said.
Unions and other interest groups point to the continued high cost of childcare as a major factor in preventing women from taking jobs outside the home.
Overall, Fás paints a positive picture of the labour market and predicts that significant growth in jobs will continue.
It reports that the number of jobs in the economy rose by 65,200 last year to a total of just under 1.9 million. This was the largest year-on-year increase in employment for four years.
Growth was strongest in the construction and services sectors, while even manufacturing employment increased slightly, in spite of the difficulties confronting that sector.
As a result, Ireland's unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent is currently the lowest of any country in the EU.
The one exception to the trend in services, which saw jobs increase overall by more than 45,000, was in the hotels and restaurants sector, which suffered a 2.4 per cent decline in employment.
Despite the strong demand for labour overall, skills shortages do not seem to have been a major problem so far, the commentary says. "This is thanks in large part to the continued inflow of migrant workers, especially from the new EU states."
Almost half of the 50,000-plus workers from the new EU states who sought work in Ireland between May and December last year came from Poland.
At present, the commentary says, there does not seem to be any significant displacement of Irish nationals by workers from the new EU states, given that unemployment remains low.
Fás predicts that an additional 45,000 jobs will be created this year, followed by 22,000 in 2006, and continued immigration will be required to ensure that the labour supply keeps pace with demand.
The commentary says that the growth in jobs has been accompanied by wage acceleration running ahead of inflation.
Public-sector pay rose by 9.1 per cent last year, largely as a result of benchmarking and the Sustaining Progress pact, but there was also strong earnings growth in banking and construction.
Earnings growth is likely to continue to exceed inflation in 2005 and 2006, Fás says. It warns that increases in productivity will be needed if such increases are not to damage competitiveness.
