The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) has called for urgent action from the Government to ensure that the Irish economy does not return to a period of substantial job losses.
Director of enterprise, Mr Brendan Butler, said the major factors contributing to the substantial job losses were rapidly rising business costs and inflation.
"Rapidly rising non-pay costs in key areas such as energy and insurance together with congestion charges, waste disposal costs and commercial rates have substantially increased our cost base. As a consequence it is becoming increasingly difficult to create new jobs," he said yesterday.
IBEC was responding to official unemployment figures issued on Friday which showed job losses have reached the highest level in 15 years.
IBEC noted that job creation is at a standstill and has issued a series of recommendations to improve the situation.
"Job losses in 2002 were at a higher level that in any period since social partnership began in 1987 and represented a 28 per cent increase on 2001. The trend so far is equally worrying with the first three months of the year showing job losses at 9.4 per cent higher than the corresponding period in 2002," he said.
Insurance costs for businesses have doubled in the past couple of years, while energy costs have risen by up to 25 per cent.
Mr Butler said the Irish economy can no longer claim to be a low-cost environment for business.
IBEC has called on the Government and the other social partners to place jobs at the heart of their economic and social agenda.
It is advocating that inflation must be tackled as a matter of urgency and primarily by promoting greater competition in sheltered sectors of the economy.
Increased public service charges should be avoided and it has also emphasised the need to maintain a low-taxation environment for all economic participants, workers, businesses and consumers.
IBEC believes that the quality, efficiency and value for money of public services must be dramatically improved and that current growth in gross spending should be limited to the rate of growth in nominal GNP.
Other factors it believes are crucial include the maintainence of pay increases in line with Ireland's trading partners and that the implementation of benchmarking must be linked to improved value for money for the taxpayer, appropriate flexibility and change and the ability of the Exchequer to pay.
"Supply-side constraints on economic and social development must be tackled and the Government must mobilise resources, public and private as necessary, to secure progress in major priority areas such as roads, communications, public transport and waste management," according to IBEC.
It further warned that escalating business costs such as insurance, energy, waste disposal and commercial property rates must be reined in.
IBEC stated that the Government should view Ireland's increasing unemployment rate as a "wake-up call".
Mr Butler said that our future success is in jeopardy, unless jobs are again placed at the top of the Government agenda.
