Industrial employment fell by 11,000 last year to reach 241,100 by December, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

Despite an improving economic climate, the decline continued into the fourth quarter, although the seasonally adjusted fall of 300 between September and December was small compared to the declines earlier in the year.

The decline over the year affected most sectors, reflecting a difficult climate for business. In sectors involved in the manufacture of electrical equipment, employment fell by 3,700 to 31,900. There was a smaller 700 fall in the chemical sector, where 23,800 were employed last December.

Employment in the food sector increased by 400 to 49,300, however.

"About one in 11 jobs in industry have been lost since the peak level of industrial employment in 2001," according to IBEC. Many of these jobs are being lost in the high tech, high value-added sectors of the economy, they point out.