Ireland's unemployment rate continued to fall in May, slipping to 7.8% from 7.9% the previous month, the central statistics office said on Tuesday.

Employment has increased strongly since the jobless rate hit a high of 15.1% in early 2012 when Ireland was midway through a three-year international bailout, and has fallen from 9.6% a year ago amid a broadening economic recovery.

The number of people unemployed in Ireland is now at its lowest level since September 2008,

According to Davy Stockbrokers, "The decline in the rate is ahead of our current forecast of an average of 8.3% through 2016 following the big downward revision to the unemployment numbers last week. We now expect to revise the rate down to 7.5-8%. A Brexit could hit investment and hiring decisions in Ireland but this has become a more remote prospect in recent weeks as polls and bookmakers have favoured a vote to remain in the EU."  (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie