Key Post IMF summary data for Ireland

[Brendan Burgess]

This is a great summary of the key economic data for Ireland with links to the sources.

IMF Summary Data for Ireland

It is updated as soon as new information comes out.

Brendan

[Chris]

That's a good source of summary data.

After skimming through I did see one positive, which is that exports are up while at the same time imports are down; that is positive for a debt riddled economy.

Here is something I found strange. Unemployment is down by 500, but employment is up by 1800. Now it could be down to an overlap in measuring periods, but are there any other explanations?

Also, the most worrying thing I see is that total government debt went from €142bn to €151bn in one quarter and according to the central bank link has now surpassed €169bn.

So we have officially plowed right through the 100% debt to GDP barrier with no fanfare or statement. At the same time we are beig told that it's all sunshine and lollipops and we'll be back in the markets next year. Appologies for the little rant :-)

[Brendan Burgess]

Originally Posted by Chris

Here is something I found strange. Unemployment is down by 500, but employment is up by 1800. Now it could be down to an overlap in measuring periods, but are there any other explanations?

The population is not static. So Employment could be up by 1800 because we have 1800 additional immigrants.

Also, the most worrying thing I see is that total government debt went from €142bn to €151bn in one quarter and according to the central bank link has now surpassed €169bn.

There are many measures and it's very hard to get a clear figure. Some figures use gross debt i.e. they ignore cash balances. So if the government raises €10 billion in the bond market and puts it in the bank, our national debt goes up by €10 billion.