The number of jobs advertised last year rose by 8 per cent, underlining the buoyancy in the economy, a new index has shown.

The Bank of Ireland Business Banking Job Index showed that private sector recruitment fuelled the increase over the previous year.

Last year 204,647 job advertisements were placed in the national daily and Sunday newspapers.

The survey says there are positive indications that the strong trend will continue this year.

The findings are consistent with trends emerging elsewhere.

The report says that the manufacturing sector recovered from a difficult 2003.

It saw a 17 per cent rise in job ads. Retail recruitment enjoyed a 20 per cent rise.

"Despite sluggish consumer spending throughout the year, this sector was buoyed by strong pre-Christmas recruitment in November and December," it says.

There was also a significant rise in the professional sector, which saw a 20 per cent rise in ads.

The index reported mixed fortunes for public sector recruitment, in line with the recruitment cap which former finance minister Mr Charlie McCreevy introduced in the 2003 budget.

However, healthcare recruitment continued to perform strongly last year, up 17 per cent, and Bank of Ireland expects to see a continuation of this, with the increased funding for the sector announced in the last Budget.

Looking at monthly movements, the index found that the December 2004 index shows a very significant 24 per cent increase on December 2003.

The retail sector (plus 135 per cent) recorded the highest monthly increase, reflecting exceptional seasonal demand for retail staff.

Labour demand in the leisure sector was also up significantly by 41 per cent.

Much of the demand came from gyms, membership of which normally increases in January.