Overall employment in the Irish private sector is expected to rise in the coming months, according to a report by FÁS and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The Employment and Vacancies Survey for the first quarter of this year found employer expectations regarding future employment had reached their most optimistic levels since June 2002.
The Employment and Vacancies Survey
It said: "The percentage of private sector firms reporting vacancies increased during the first three months of 2005, reaching 10 per cent in March."
The services sector was found to have the most significant increase in the percentage of firms reporting vacancies from 6 per cent in December 2004 to 14 per cent in March 2005.
"The percentage of retail sector firms reporting vacancies remained very low at 1 per cent," it said.
But the sector experienced an improvement in employer expectations regarding future employment with employers now feeling more optimistic about future employment levels in their firms, the report added.
