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Layoffs soared in ?03

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

SFA director Pat Delaney said that employment prospects for 2004 are in a ?perilous? state, with hours worked trending downward and Ireland’s ability to create new jobs severely pressured.
?The redundancy figures notified to the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment, for the year of 24,875 jobs, are further proof that employment prospects are in free fall. Small companies continue to engage in cost-cutting measures in an effort to survive the economic downturn,? he said.
Delaney also warned that the continuation of exchange rate volatility in 2004, with the euro expected to gain against the dollar and sterling, would impact severely on exports, as Irish input costs remain high relative to competitors.
?A spiraling cost base in areas such as labor, insurance, energy, commercial rates and service charges have all played their part in putting increased pressure on business survival. We expect to see further erosion of jobs in 2004 as investment and business confidence remains weak,? he added.
?Ireland needs to see significant reductions in our cost and significant and continuous wage moderation if we are to protect existing employment. The loss of 11,000 manufacturing jobs in 2003 is further evidence of how badly exposed we are.?

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