Following on news that Ireland's population has reached its highest level since the sad aftermath of the Great Famine, when hundreds of thousands emigrated in search of work, and the population continued to dwindle even into the 1980s, it is heartening to note that the Twenty-six county Republic now has the second lowest unemployment rate in Europe, and also in the world at large.

Eurostat, the statistics keeper for the European Union, reported in October that the unemployment rate in the Republic in August was 4.4 per cent, this compared to 7.2 per cent in Canada, 5.4 per cent in the United States, and 4.8 per cent in Japan. Only tiny Luxembourg had a lower rate with 4.3 per cent.

Even more encouraging was the fact that youth unemployment in the Republic for people under 25 was 7.9 per cent, compared with 11.1 per cent in the United States, and 13.7 per cent in Canada.

The outlook for the coming year, 2005, holds promise of greater reductions, thanks to the revival of the Celtic Tiger, the name given to the Irish economy when it showed extraordinary growth during the late 1990s. The Tiger is again on the prowl, slashing unemployment as it goes. Unfortunately, it has yet to make its presence felt in traditionally deprived areas such as Donegal and other counties where job losses continue to grow.

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