ONE thousand people a week joined the workforce last year and almost 3,000 more new jobs were created than the Central Statistics Office first estimated.

According to the final 1995 Labour Force survey from the CSO, published yesterday, the number of people at work rose by 52,000 to 1.23 million in the year to April 1995.

The original figure in October last year estimated a rise of 49,000. In a speech due later today, the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, is expected to tell the Dail Committee on Finance and General Affairs that employment growth will slow this year to 2.5 per cent growth, or over 30,000 jobs.

He will also stress that employment will be top of the Irish agenda for the EU presidency next month.

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, told the Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce last night that employment should grow by 30,000 in 1996.

"This growth implies that, between 1994 and 1996, total employment growth will have been almost 10 per cent," he said.

"Total employment in the EU will have increased by only 1.2 per cent in the same period."

He said the impact on unemployment would be limited by the continuing high rate of increase in the labour force.

"Unemployment is projected to fall by about 10,000, giving an unemployment rate of 12 per cent," he told the conference.

The rise of 52,000 in 1995 is the biggest annual rise recorded in the survey. A rise of 10,000 in state sponsored employment schemes contributed to the increase.

In addition, increases in part time jobs and women at work contributed to the unexpected rise.

Some 152,400 people had part time jobs in the week before the 1995 survey, just over half of whom worked in either professional services, insurance, finance and business services. Almost 42,800 of these were male and 109,600 female.

This is an increase of around 14,800 people on the 1994 estimate of part time working, which was 10,000 higher than in 1993. The vast majority around 129,700 indicated their part time job was regular rather than occasional.

Mr Padhraic Garvey, economist at Riada Stockbrokers, said the increase in the numbers of part timers was a reflection of the changing nature of the labour market.

"Ireland is now moving towards a more flexible labour market along the lines of the US or Britain," he said. "That should further cut the numbers of unemployed. The US only has an unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent."

The Labour Force figures have created confusion over the real level of unemployment. The number of unemployed fell during the year by 28,000 to 194,000, 2,000 more than first estimated, according to the final survey.

However, the survey figure contrasts with the live register figure which puts unemployment at 276,000 at the end of April 1995, a fall of only 8,500 over the 12 months.

The Central Statistics Office maintains the Labour Force Survey an annual survey of 47,000 households is the more accurate measure of employment.

The live register is a record of the people signing on for unemployment benefit and is affected by administrative changes as well as counting some part time workers as unemployed, according to economists.

Between 1990 and 1995 the survey shows an increase of 113,000 in the labour force 74 per cent of these are accounted for by females. Over the same period the number of people at work rose by 99,600.

The largest annual increases were in 1993-1994 when the numbers in work grew by 35,400 and 1994-1995 when they rose by 52,000.

Unemployment rose by 54,100 in the three years to mid April 1993 before falling by 12,000 and 27,800 in the years to mid April 1994 and 1995 respectively.

A spokesman for Mr Quinn said the figures "are further proof of the success of the Government's economic policies".