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The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.25% as expected today and signalled that more tightening would be needed to tame inflation. The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro has lifted rates by a combined 375 basis points since last July, its fastest pace of tightening.…

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the country’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April from a revised 4% a month earlier to match the previous record low of the early 2000s. The jobless rate had remained between 4.2% and 4.5% over the last year, according to recent CSO figures. But the…

The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council has said that overall the country’s “macroeconomic fundamentals” are strong. In its Competitiveness Scorecard report, published every three years, the council found that Ireland scores well on education and skills, but comparatively worse when it comes to transport and housing. Ireland has the second highest share of workers with…

The latest AIB Services Business Activity Index grew from 55.7 to 58.4 during the month, well above the 50 threshold separating growth from contraction. It was the twenty-sixth consecutive month of expansion and the most pronounced in 11 months. “It points to a robust rate of growth in services activity,” said Oliver Mangan, Chief Economist…

There has been a €76 drop in real weekly wages over the past two years due to rising inflation, according to new research from the Unite trade union. It shows that the real median wage in Ireland, adjusted for the impact of inflation, has fallen from €976 per week to €900 per week, since the…

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank meets in Frankfurt today where it is widely expected to increase interest rates for the seventh time since it began raising rates last summer. The ECB’s base deposit rate is currently 3%. Market analysts are divided over whether the bank will increase rates today by another half…

Fear of losing money is the biggest barrier to people investing (67%), according to a survey by Bank of Ireland which also revealed low levels of investment knowledge. Other respondents were afraid of having their money tied up for years (36%), while 34% felt they didn’t have enough money to invest. Bernard Walsh, Head of…

The number of homes provided by approved housing bodies grew by 10% last year, according to the latest report from the Irish Council for Social Housing. It amounts to almost 5,000 new social and cost rental homes – surpassing its target of 40% of total social housing delivery. The Government did, however, miss its own…

The country’s largest private residential landlord, Irish Residential Properties REIT, saw its revenue increase by 4.9% in the first three months of the year, driven by additions to its portfolio and stable rent collections. In a trading update for the three months to the end of March, it said that occupancy levels at its properties…

Recruitment for a new four-day working week pilot programme has been launched today to coincide with International Workers’ Day. Companies and organisations of all sizes from every sector are encouraged to join the trial which will be based on the ‘100-80-100 model’ where workers get 100% of their pay, for 80% of the time, in…