There are more people now in employment in the north west compared to this time last year — and it’s gradually increasing.
In the Border region of Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan and Monaghan, there was 300 people more working during the first quarter of this year compared to 12 months previously.
That’s according to figures just released by the Central Statistics Office.
First quarter figures for people in employment in the Border region was 175,000 in 2016, almost 177,000 in 2017 and just over 177,000 this year.
In the fourth quarter of 2016, there were 180,300 in employment but this had dropped by 200 by the same time in 2017, most likely accounted for by a number of businesses in the region that ceased operations.
However, the unemployment RATE for the region — that’s the percentage of persons in the area who were unemployed — shows a dramatic fall, from 7.4% at the first quarter of 2016 to 4.4 per cent for the same period this year.
Meanwhile, for the years ahead, employment is expected to substantially rise in the region, particularly in the Sligo area, where almost 400 new jobs were announced recently.
That’s in addition to jobs expected to be generated by work on construction of the new N4 between Collooney and Castlebaldwin and on a new Western Distributor Road connecting the N4 to an IDA business park in Sligo town.
