Recent data from the CSO gives the Irish population at 5.5 million in April 2024 up by 41% since 2001. This is a very rapid rate of population growth. By contrast EU population grew by 5% in the same period. Migration is the key factor and has provided 54% of the total. As is to be expected migration likely also accounts for a high proportion of the increase in jobs. In the year to April 2024 net migration of over 25 year olds, presumably mostly coming to work, was the same as the total increase in employment - 50,000. Over the time since 2001 this age cohort of migrants was equal to about 54% of the increase in employment and suggests about half of employment growth is accounted for by migrants.

Year to year inflation in the US increased from 2.4% to 2.7% in June and will reinforce the Fed's policy of holding interest rates steady in the face of a noisy and abusive campaign by the President to get them to cut them. In the EU inflation dropped from 1.9% to 1,6% but is unlikely to lead to a further cut in interest rates until the situation about tariffs becomes clearer. In Ireland the HICP rate of inflation moved up from 1.4% to 1.6% and in terms of the CPI from 1.7% to 1.8%. A major factor in Ireland in the uptick is in inflation is food which rose by 4.6% in June.

The indicators for the first quarter suggest rapid growth up to March powered mainly by production and exports from US companies aiming to beat the deadline set by the Trump administration for the imposition of tariffs. In the event the threat did not materialise but the data for from trade, and indices of industrial production in April indicate that there was a sharp drop in activity after the initial burst. On the other hand the AIB purchasing managers index suggests that April and May showed growth in manufacturing. Also, unemployment continued to fall in April and May. It remains to be seen if May trade and industrial production will recover back to trend or stay at currently depressed April levels.