Archive for August 2023

From shoes and uniforms, to school bags and stationary, back-to-school costs are mounting. It is an expensive time of year for those with children in both primary and secondary school, with many of the expenses unavoidable. A recent study carried out by children’s charity Barnardos revealed that many parents are concerned about meeting the costs…

A third of workers in Ireland do not feel their organisations treat everyone fairly according to new research on workplace diversity and inclusion. The study by the Irish Centre for Diversity shows that 90% of workers feel respected and valued by their immediate colleagues but two out of five respondents said they did not feel…

The employment rate rose to over 74% in the second quarter of 2023, the highest rate since the current series of records began in 1998. The latest Labour Force Survey from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of people in employment increased by 88,400 or 3.5% to 2,643,000 in the second quarter of…

A slowdown in the market meant the number of new mortgages approved in July was down 9.7% on the same month last year and 0.4% on June, despite continued strong first time-buyer activity. New data from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland shows 4,747 new home purchase loans got the go-ahead in the month. First-time buyers…

Tender prices for commercial construction projects rose by 2.4% during the first half of the year. That’s down from 3.7% during the second six months of 2022, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). It means the annual rate of commercial construction tender price inflation between July of last year and June of…

52% of Irish SME businesses have taken the step to raise their prices, according to the latest Linked Finance SME Confidence Index. Recent Central Statistics Office figures show that inflation stood at 4.6% for July, down from 4.8% in June and 9.6% in July last year. Linked Finance said that initial steps taken by businesses to…

The body representing the tourism industry here has said it is concerned that the recovery of the sector is still some way off the levels reached prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Publishing its latest monthly tourism dashboard, the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) said soaring cost inflation is damaging business profitability and this combined with…

Sentiment among Irish consumers slipped for the first time in five months this month, amid bad news on the jobs front, global economic difficulties and ongoing inflation pressures. The drop in the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index may also reflect poor weather during the summer months, its author has suggested. Economist Austin Hughes said the…

The domestic economy grew by around 3.5% in June when compared to the same month last year, according to a new estimate from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). That compares to estimated Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) growth of 3.1% in May, the ESRI said. “While June saw a further tightening of financial conditions…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that wholesale electricity prices fell by 64% in July compared to the same time last year. The CSO said that electricity costs on the wholesale market are now lower than any time during the past two years, adding that the last time that prices were lower than…