SURVEY: The numbers in employment continued to grow last year but at a slower pace than in previous years, the latest job figures show.

The host of job losses announced late last year also showed up in the figures, which confirmed the upward trend in unemployment continued into the fourth quarter with a 5.5 per cent increase in the numbers without work.

The Quarterly National Household Survey, which is regarded as the truest reflection of the labour market, showed that 72,600 people were unemployed in the fourth quarter of last year.

Although this was down on the seasonal peak in the summer quarter, it represented an increase of 3,800, or 5.5 per cent, on the fourth quarter of 2000. Men accounted for 3,500 of this, the bulk of the increase.

The unemployment rate was 4 per cent, down from 4.3 per cent in the third quarter, but up from 3.9 per cent a year earlier.

However, Mr Austin Hughes, economist with IIB Bank, said the figures showed the resilience of the economy.

"The economy was beyond full employment so, despite serious job lay-offs, those workers were easily able to find new jobs," he said.

The figures, released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office, showed that the numbers with a job grew by 2.9 per cent last year, down on the 4.7 per cent growth rate recorded in 2000 and the 6.3 per cent rate seen in 1999. The rate of employment growth moderated over the course of the year, from an annual increase of 3.6 per cent in the first quarter to 2.5 per cent in the last quarter.

Overall, there were 1.75 million people employed in the fourth quarter of 2001, a decrease of 33,700 on the seasonal summer peak but more than 42,000 more than in the last quarter of 2000.

Employment grew in most sectors of the economy, although it declined in certain production industries and in the hotel and restaurant sector.

The biggest growth areas were education and health, which recorded a 13,900 increase in the numbers employed, and financial and other business services, where employment grew by 11,900.

Regional comparisons showed that the strongest employment growth was seen in the Border, midland and western region, where it rose by 2.8 per cent. But unemployment also grew in those regions and was highest in the Border region at 5.3 per cent and lowest in Dublin at 3.1 per cent.

The labour force grew by 46,400 last year to reach 1.825 million or 59.7 per cent of all persons aged 15 or over.