Posts by sean

New research shows that 84% of businesses are planning to increase pay in 2025, with respondents forecasting an average increase of 3.4% across all business sectors. Business group Ibec has published the first part of its annual HR Workplace and Trends report showing that 85% of respondents increased basic pay by an average of 4.1%…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that residential property prices grew by 9.6% in the year to July – their highest growth rate in 21 months. The CSO said the national residential property price index is now 12% above the April 2007 peak of the country’s last property boom. Today’s CSO figures show…

The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates by half of a percentage point, kicking off what is expected to be a steady easing of monetary policy with a larger-than-usual reduction in borrowing costs that followed growing unease about the health of the job market. “The committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving…

The euro zone’s current account surplus shrunk in July on a lower trade surplus and a drop in primary income, which includes the flow of profits, wages, interest income and dividends into and out of the bloc, European Central Bank data showed today. The seasonally adjusted current account surplus fell to €39.6 billion in July…

Dealing with the pent-up demand for housing and continued growth in the population will require building 52,000 homes a year over 25 years, the Central Bank has forecast. It has also calculated that if the Government wanted to reduce the deficit of homes over a decade and meet demand it would need to build almost…

A bill that seeks to abolish age-based sub-minimum pay rates for younger workers will be discussed today by the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Current legislation allows for lower or sub-minimum rates for people aged under 20. The minimum wage for those aged 19 is 90% of the prevailing rate, for those aged…

The Tánaiste has said the energy credit which will be announced in the budget will be paid to households before the end of the year. With Budget 2025 now less than two weeks away, Micheál Martin is expected to hold further discussions on its overall shape with the Government party leaders tonight. However, he said…

The European Central Bank should keep cutting interest rates gradually, its chief economist said today, after policymakers reduced borrowing costs last week for the second time this year. “A gradual approach to dialling back restrictiveness will be appropriate if the incoming data are in line with the baseline projection,” Philip Lane said in a speech…

New figures from Kantar today show that take-home grocery sales increased by 5.4% in the four weeks to September 1 as Irish households prepared for the new school year. Shopping frequency increased by 0.7% in September, along with an increase in average prices of 2.4%, while volumes per trip were also up slightly by 0.4%…

The national commercial vacancy rate hit a new high of 14.4% in June, new data shows. 30,246 commercial units were classified as vacant across the country, according to the latest GeoDirectory report. The analysis, prepared by EY, found that the commercial vacancy rate increased in 14 out of 26 counties surveyed. “While the national commercial…