Vol. 383 No. 1
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will outline the gross number of jobs created in manufacturing industry in Ireland for 1986, 1987 and to 30 September 1988 and the net losses in manufacturing jobs for the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
45.
asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce the number of (a) new manufacturing jobs and (b) other new jobs created in the first nine months of this year; the way in which these compare with the targets set under the Programme for National Recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 39 and 45 together.
On the basis of surveys conducted by the IDA and Shannon Development the number of new jobs in manufacturing (including international services) in 1986, 1987 and to end September 1988 were as follows: 1986, 17,662; 1987, 16,364; to end September (nine months) 1988, 14,500.
These figures indicate that we are on target to achieve the overall annual industrial job target of 20,000 set under the Programme for National Recovery;
Preliminary results of the CSO Labour Force Survey published last week show that in the year to mid-April 1988 employment in the economy increased by 6,000, the first significant employment increase since 1980. In the three years to mid-April 1988 employment in manufacturing increased by a net 3,000 while employment in services increased by 24,000. In part, this reflects the increasing tendency by industry to buy in services rather than provide them in-house.
The Government statement of 7 October 1988 gave full details of developments in job creation under the Programme for National Recovery in major sectors of the economy. It shows that the Government's drive for economic reconstruction is working and that we are meeting the targets set out in the programme.
