Employment picked up strongly last year, with the number of people out of work falling back for the first time since 2001.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that more than 50,000 new jobs were created across the economy in the 12 months to the end of February.
This lifted the number of people at work by 2.9 per cent to 1.8 million, and by far outpaced the annual growth of 1.7 per cent recorded a year earlier.
The good news for the economy emerged as employers, unions and the Government engaged in what was seen as a final push to secure a national pay deal.
However, union concerns about the future of Aer Rianta resurfaced yesterday during the talks at Government Buildings, undermining the prospect of agreement.
Most of the new jobs created over the year were full-time positions, with the number of hours worked in these roles also increasing.
The pick-up, which offers the latest evidence of an acceleration in economic activity, came as IDA Ireland said it expected at least one more multinational to locate its European headquarters in the Republic before the end of the year.
Reflecting on the launch of IDA's annual report for 2003, the agency's chief executive, Mr Seán Dorgan, said it was clear that the Republic had weathered the economic downturn very well. He said he expected "good amounts" of foreign direct investment in 2004.
The CSO figures show that the unemployment rate, which peaked at 5.1 per cent around the middle of last year, had dropped to 4.4 per cent at the end of February. This compares to 4.6 per cent at the same point of 2003, suggesting that the labour market is tightening.
Economists agreed yesterday that this could put upward pressure on wages, particularly as potential labour supply shows signs of declining.
Unions and employers had still not got to grips with issue of wages, however, as their talks resumed shortly before 9 p.m.
Instead, much of the day had been given over to addressing union concerns that the Government may be preparing to press ahead with the legislation giving effect to the break-up of Aer Rianta.
They were seeking renewed assurances that the Government would honour a commitment to engage meaningfully with the unions on the future terms, conditions and job security of Aer Rianta workers before it proceeded with the legislation.
"If we cannot trust the Government to honour its commitments on Aer Rianta then there is hardly any point in doing a deal in any other area," said a union source.
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