BANK OF IRELAND BUSINESS BANKING'S JOB INDEX SHOWS 3 MONTH INCREASE OF 6% IN RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING

Decrease in August figures not seen as reversal of rising employment trend

15,993 recruitment advertisements were placed in the national daily and Sunday newspapers in August, according to Bank of Ireland Business Banking's Job Index published today (Sunday, 4th September 2004).

Significantly, the overall trend is positive, with a 6% increase in advertising for the three months to August compared to the corresponding period in 2003. All sectors, with the exception of financial, experienced an increase over this 3-month period, with the IT sector experiencing the largest increase of 59%.

Although the 3-month figures are up, this month's results represent an 8% decrease over August 2003, with the largest monthly decreases year-on-year in the Financial (-71%), Manufacturing (-33%), IT/Tech (-32%) and Leisure (-27%) sectors. The healthcare (-11%) and construction (-6%) sectors were also down. This is the first year-on-year decline in recruitment advertising since May 2004, when there was a 2% decline recorded over May 2003. There was some upside, with 3,868 jobs placed in the professional services sector, a 33% increase over the same month last year. The education sector also saw an increase of 9%, reflecting a bounce in recruitment for the start of the school year. This was the highest recorded year-on- year increase in education since March of this year.

"Commenting on the findings of the Job Index, Mr. Cathal Muckian, Director, Bank of Ireland Business Banking said: "Despite the findings of this month's Index the trend in recruitment advertising over the last number of months has been buoyant, reflecting the general upturn in the economy. We expect this trend to continue and would expect to see a bounce back in recruitment advertising next month. There are a number of sectors of the economy experiencing considerable growth where the demand for labour is yet to be satisfied. This growth is reflected in the Bank of Ireland Business Banking loan book which has seen high a demand for finance to fund increased development activity ".

Mr. Michael Crowley, Senior Economist, Bank of Ireland added, "Though the Job Index registered a year-over-year decline in August, it is extremely unlikely that this signals a reversal of the recent trend of steadily rising employment in the Irish economy. Indeed, over the three months to August the Job Index was more than 6% higher than in the corresponding period in 2003. This points to a continuation of relatively strong demand for labour over recent months and a further increase in the numbers in employment. Other available data, notably income tax receipts, which are currently running significantly ahead of last year's levels, are consistent with the on-going gain in employment suggested by the trend in Business Banking's Jobs Index".

Sunday 5th September 2004

For reference;
Mary Brennan
Group Corporate Communications
Bank of Ireland Group
Tel: 01 6043838 / 087 2833646

Liam D'Arcy
Sectors Manager
Bank of Ireland Business Banking
Tel: 01 604 3713 / 086-8257734

Note to Editors:

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