Unemployment down in Ireland
IRISH unemployment shrank at its fastest pace in four years in the third quarter, falling below 13 per cent for the first time since the property bust and boosting the government just as it completes its EU-IMF bailout.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, widely seen as one of the most important measures of the economy, fell to 12.8 per cent from a revised 13.6 per cent in the second quarter, the Central Statistics Office said yesterday. That was the sharpest quarterly drop since it peaked at 15.1 per cent early last year.