"Employment in Ireland: composition, growth and future prospects. Discuss."

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Table of Contents:

Title

Introduction………………………………………………………………..Page 3

Employment Growth…………………………………………………..….Pages 4 -9

  • The Labour Force……………………………………………………….Pages 4 - 7

Population Growth & Emigration/Immigration…………………….Pages 4 – 5

Graph 1: “Irish Population Aged 15 – 64 Years, 1980 – 2001”………Page 5

                Female Labour Force Participation…………………………………..Pages 5 – 6

Table 1:         “Female Labour Force Participation Rates (000’s)”……….Page 6

Labour Force Education………………………………………………Pages 6 – 7

  • General Growth…………………………………………………………Pages 7 – 9

Table 2: “Total at work, Unemployed, Labour Force

and Net Migration 1986-2000”………………………………………..Page 8

Graph 2: “Employment in Ireland 1986 – 2001”…………………….Page 9

Composition:……………………………………………………………..Pages 9 -11

  • Employment by sector………………………………………………...Pages 9 – 10

Table 3: “Employment in Ireland by Sector, 1980 –2000”…………Page 10

  • Part-Time and Temporary Employment……………………………Pages 10 – 11

Graph 3: “Part Time employed men and women as % of

all women and men in Ireland and EU 1986 – 2001”…………….Page 11

Future Prospects………………………………………………………Pages 12 - 13

Conclusion……………………………………………………………..Pages 13 – 14

Bibliography………………………………………………………..…Pages 14 – 15

Introduction:

“Employment in Ireland: composition, growth and future prospects. Discuss.”        

In order to answer this question in a detailed manner, I have chosen to concentrate my focus on three particular time periods in Irish economic history, namely the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000 onwards (i.e. the present day). The periods of the 1980’s and 1990’s represent two completely different economic periods in Irish economic history, and convey the massive turnaround the Irish economy experienced, from economic depression and low levels of employment in the 1980’s, to the economic boom and soaring employment levels of the 1990’s, a period known now as “The Celtic Tiger”.

One cannot discuss the growth and future prospects of employment in Ireland without also reflecting on the growth of the Irish economy as a whole, over the period of 1980 to the present day. Put simply, the first half of the 1980’s were extremely severe on the Irish economy, with mass unemployment and falling employment levels, a fiscal crisis of the state and living standards well below European average. Emigration peaked at 44,000 (1.3 percent of the population) in 1989, with Ireland’s educated workforce moving abroad in search of employment, which could not be found in their home country – Haughton, Jonathon (2000). Ireland was regarded as the “sick man of Europe.” - O’ Connell, Philip J. (2000).

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The boom of the 1990’s, or “Celtic Tiger” as it is now referred to, was a complete turnaround for the Irish economy.  It was, by contrast to the 1980’s, a period of economic success, with rapid growth of GDP per person moving Ireland up the living standards league table. The high unemployment rates of the 1980’s fell to a rate of approximately 3.4% in November 2000. The annual real growth rate of the Irish economy between 1993 and 2001 more than doubled the average recorded over the previous decade – 8% compared with 3.5%. – Clinch, P., Convery, F. ...

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