DUBLIN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ireland's jobless rate stood at 6.3 percent in August, almost three percentage points below the eurozone average of 9.1 percent, according to official figures released on Tuesday from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The CSO figures showed the unemployment rate for August was down from 6.4 percent in the previous month, and significantly less than the peak of 15.1 percent it hit during the financial crisis.
But the CSO figures showed that youth unemployment rose to 12.7 percent from 12.3 percent in July.
Alan McQuaid, chief economist with the Dublin-headquartered Merrion Stockbrokers, said Irish employment rose in 11 of the 14 economic sectors on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2017.
The greatest rates of increase were posted in the information and communication and the construction sectors, McQuaid said.
The continued pick-up in the latter is particularly encouraging given that it was the building industry that suffered the worst in the downturn, he said.
"On the negative side, some sectors recorded job losses with the biggest annual decline coming in agriculture, forestry and fishing, which may have been Brexit related," he added.
McQuaid said employment prospects looked very good again in 2017 due to the continued strong economic growth, and notwithstanding the Brexit risks.
He forecast an average jobless rate in 2017 of 6.4 percent against 7.9 percent in 2016 and 9.4 percent in 2015.
