Employment in the construction sector was down nearly 22 per cent in the final month of last year, bringing the average fall in construction to some 15.6 per cent for 2008.
Provisional figures published by the Central Statistics Office today reveal that work in private companies with five or more people employed was down some 21.9 per cent in December 2008 compared to December 2007.
The monthly employment index decreased from 98.4 in December 2007 to just 76.9 in December 2008 – an indication of the rapid decline in construction last year.
