Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 March 2014
93. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the total number of jobs created in the services sector in each of the past three years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12691/14]
View answerThe Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS), which is published by the Central Statistics Office, provides a breakdown of employment by economic sector. It also groups these sectors into the broad headings of Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing, Industry (including construction), and Services.
The latest Survey was published on 27 February, and shows that there were just over 1.9 million people in employment in Quarter 4 2013. The breakdown of this figure by broad economic sector is provided at Table 1, which also includes comparable figures for Quarter 4 2011 and Quarter 4 2012. The figures show that employment in the Services sector grew by 3,000 year-on-year in 2012 and by 29,300 year-on-year in 2013. This is in spite of reductions in public sector numbers, many of which are included in the Services category. Employment in the public sector fell by 15,300 over the period from Quarter 4 2011 to Quarter 4 2013.
The services sector is clearly a major employer in the Irish economy. The Government has focused on supporting a number of services industries through the Action Plan for Jobs process, including International Financial Services, Business Process Outsourcing/Shared Services, International Education Services, Tourism, and ICT Services. The 2014 Action Plan, which was published at the end of February, also places a new emphasis on supporting job creation in Retail, Aviation services and Creative services.
Table 1 - Employment by broad economic sector, Q4 2011- Q4 2013
|
Economic sector |
Q4 2011 (,000) |
Q4 2012 (,000) |
Q4 2013 (,000) |
|
Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing |
80.3 |
90.0 |
116.8 |
|
Industry (incl. Construction) |
352.4 |
340.4 |
347.2 |
|
Services |
1,412.3 |
1,415.3 |
1,444.6 |
|
Not stated |
2.7 |
3.2 |
- |
|
Total |
1,847.7 |
1,848.9 |
1,909.8 |
Source: QNHS, Quarter 4 2013, Central Statistics Office
