Dear member

There has been some good news on the jobs front. The first IBEC Jobs Report of 2013 found that 5,030 new jobs were announced during the first quarter of the year. Last year saw the Irish labour market’s first annual increase in employment since 2008, unemployment is expected decline somewhat this year, but will unfortunately remain stubbornly high for some time.

Identifying steps that can have a real impact on growth and job creation remains a key challenges. In the medium-term a new EU-US free trade agreement could have enormous economic benefits for Ireland. IBEC hosted a major meeting of EU and US business leaders in the margins of the recent EU trade council to push forward talks on a new deal.

In addition to jobs and trade, this month we also look at what now for Croke Park II and announce details of the IBEC and Accenture Annual Lecture with David Miliband. We also provide some tips for SME on how to save money on the electricity bill.

If you found this newsletter informative, feel free to send it to a friend. As always we welcome your feedback and suggestions for improvements to editor@agenda.ie.

Majella Fitzpatrick
Director of Communications