Education and Employment Minister Dolores Cristina said statistics which have just been issued show that the number of gainfully employed people has grown, and the number of women working has increased at a faster rate. It means the government’s policy of incentivising investment, creating jobs and urging women to remain in employment is yielding results.

Ms Cristina said the government has brought down to €25,000 the income tax of small business owners who invest or employ more people and is encouraging more local and foreign investment through incentive schemes.

The NSO statistics, she said, show that in the last year there was an increase of 2.1% in jobs, and the number of gainfully employed women has risen by 3.4% over the previous year. Average earnings have risen by €464, she added, and that excludes income from overtime, bonus or other allowances.