€4.8 billion worth of contactless payments were made in the third quarter of this year, the highest ever recorded. New figures from Banking and Payments Federation Ireland show that between July and September, the value of contactless payments increased almost 26% compared to the same time last year. There were over 285 million contactless transactions…

32,426 new jobs were created by multinational companies with operations in Ireland over the past year, despite difficult economic conditions globally – the highest level of annual growth ever. When jobs lost during the same period are taken into account, the net number of new foreign direct investment related roles added over the last 12…

Activity in the construction sector here continued to slow down last month, the second consecutive month a decrease was recorded. The latest fall in the BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNPRE) Ireland Construction Total Activity Index was solid and the fastest since July. There was a particularly sharp acceleration in the pace of decline in housing…

New figures show a 29% increase in insolvencies so far this year with corporate insolvencies expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels over the next two years. More than 500 corporate insolvencies have been recorded in Ireland so far in 2022, the latest insolvency statistics from Deloitte show. This marked an increase of over 29% from 2021…

The cost of energy is the biggest cause of worry among the public, followed closely by the broader cost of living, a new survey by employers’ organisation Ibec has found. The survey also found a third of people polled were worried about housing, as challenges around that issue continue to grow. The national survey, carried…

The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, moderated to 8.9% in November, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show today. This compares to an annual rate of 9.2% in October – a 38 year high. Today’s CSO figures show that food prices continued to rise but the price of…

Wage growth in November slowed across economies in Europe, the UK and the US, according to the Indeed Wage Tracker published by the online jobs site Indeed.com. Its reading for Ireland shows annual wage growth slowing from a peak of 5.2% in July and August to 4.6% in November. The tracker, developed by economists from…

New figures show that wind energy provided 48% of the country’s electricity in November, which means it was the biggest source of electricity in Ireland last month. Wind Energy Ireland said that wind energy has supplied 34% of Ireland’s electricity demand this year to the end of November. It said this marked the best November…

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is expected to tell the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection today that the Government’s new auto-enrolment pension scheme should include young and low-paid employees as well as sole traders. In October, the Government approved details of the new auto-enrolment scheme ahead of its expected introduction in 2024. Workers…

The rate of household savings fell in the third quarter of this year to 19% of disposable income, according to data published by the Central Statistics Office today. This was down on the 20% reported in the second quarter. This level is still high compared to pre-pandemic savings rates, which were around 10% according to…