Irish migration statistics released

The Central Statistics Office of Ireland has released its latest statistics which reflect the massive changes to emigration patterns since the global recession began.

In the year till April 65,000 people departed the country with 57,300 new arrivals being registered. Of the new arrivals, around 25% were from the UK while an additional 25% came from new member states of the EU as the virtual Euro-wide job market attracted would-be residents. The majority of the remainder was also from fellow EU countries, highlighting the problem facing many governments in the new open market.

Of those who left, around 18,000 were born in Ireland. Irish authorities expect this number to increase if predictions of a slow-to-recover Irish economy materialise. The Irish unemployment rate more than doubled in the last 12 months with close to 175,000 jobs lost.

Countries which are quickest to recover will no doubt be the target of the next wave of international immigration. Oddly, the 8% overall decline in employment hit all sectors except the government. The greatest industry to suffer was the building and construction market which uses large migrant workforces. Many labourers lost their jobs, and the overall labour count saw a huge fall of 25%. Retail and Hospitality industries also shed workers as they restructured during the recession.

Australia and the UK remain the most popular destinations for emigration due to their more relaxed regulations for Irish citizens. Temporary visas remain easy to obtain for Australia while English entry is still theoretically free.