Ireland's jobs recovery growing stronger

Ireland's jobs recovery is growing stronger with more than 1,300 new jobs added each week since the start of 2015, according to official figures on Wednesday.

The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that there was an annual increase in employment of 3 percent or 57,100 in the year to the second quarter of 2015, bringing total employment to 1,958,700.

The CSO figures also showed every region in the country has seen jobs growth and unemployment falls over the last year.

The CSO said that 57,100 extra jobs were created in the past 12 months, with the long-term unemployment rate falling from 6.8 percent to 5.5 percent over the year.

On a seasonal basis, the second quarter's unemployment rate decreased from 10 percent to 9.6 percent.

The Irish government has set a new target of 2018 to return full employment to the country, bringing it forward by two years from a previous deadline.

It has announced a series of measures, including a spring economic statement, investments in transport, infrastructure and skills shortages, and a low-pay commission to ensure work "pays better than welfare".

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said 40,000 new jobs will be created this year and unemployment would fall below 10 percent into single figures.