JOBS BOOST FOR DUBLIN EXPECTED - Up to 70 IDA-backed jobs are to be announced by the Tánaiste later this morning for west Dublin. Bell Labs, the research division of the French communications IT company, Alcatel-Lucent, is to expand its research centre in Blanchardstown in a five-year programme. The posts will all be technology related.
Bell Labs is one of the contributing multinationals in 'Open Innovation', an internal market involving Irish technology companies, foreign companies and third-level researchers in problem solving. It will also help with the 'Green Touch' initiative which again marries academics working here with business to create new ways of making communications more energy efficient.
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IBEC HOPES FOR FINANCE BILL MEASURES ON JOBS - The latest Live Register figures, leaked last night, show an increase of 8,000 on last month to 436,900 people. This pushes the unemployment rate up to 12.7% of the workforce, from 12.5% in December. Fergal O'Brien, IBEC senior economist, said that a jump in unemployment figures was forecast, and that economists would not be overly-concerned.
He said under-employment was a growing concern, as more people were working part time, and did not have full-time gainful economic activity. He said that IBEC was looking for new measures in the Finance Bill that would promote solid employment in the economy. He said that new measures supporting research and development were particularly needed.
Mr O'Brien also said Greece's credibility has been severely damaged. He said Greece's economic crisis was the greatest crisis the euro zone had ever seen.
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CURRENCIES - The euro is worth $1.3982 and 87.13 pence sterling.
