Here’s how much Irish employment rose by in 2015

On the face of it, this looks promising.

After several years of austerity and harsh economic circumstances, the statistics are starting to look a little bit brighter for Ireland. According to the Central Statistics Office's Quarterly National Household Survey for Quarter Four of 2015, the annual change in employment was a positive change of 44,100 jobs - bringing the total number of employed people in Ireland at the end of 2015 to 1,983,000. This represented an overall increase of 2.3% in employment from 2014. Unemployed decreased by 26,100 over the course of the year, reducing the number of Ireland's unemployed to 187,500. Hopefully 2016 will see further improvements on the jobs front.