merrion street

This week sees a fall in the unemployment rate and positive news for service providers and manufacturers. The Central Bank also released statistics showing that the net worth of Irish households is continuing to rise, and Vision-net's latest release shows that almost 1,200 tech startups were formed so far this year.

Unemployment falls in October

• The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 9.3% in October, down from 9.4% in September
• That's a fewer people 24,900 unemployed than in October 2014

To find out more check out CSO Monthly Unemployment.

Services see a good September

• The Monthly Services Index rose by 1.1% in September
• Compared with last September it's 4.8% higher
• In the month this growth was led by increases in Information and Communication and Other Services Activity. In the year Wholesale and Retail Trade and Accommodation and Food Services were the big movers

To find out more check out CSO Monthly Services Index

4,106 start-ups set-up in total in October

• Professional services; wholesale and retail; and social and personal services were the three industry sectors that saw the highest level of new company start-ups.
• New wholesale and retail start-ups increased by 74% to 240 from 138 in the same period last year; social and personal services start-ups increased by 38% to 171 from 124.
• IT and construction companies also received a significant boost in numbers compared to the same period last year, up 36% and 35% respectively.
• Dublin, Cork and Limerick were the three most popular centres for new business. Cork start-up numbers grew by 45%, from 139 to 202, while Limerick's were boosted by 66%, from 35 to 58

• 1,185 tech start-ups formed so far this year. Dublin, Cork and Galway account for almost 7 out of 10 of all new tech start-ups formed in Ireland this year. 57% were formed in Dublin, 8% in Cork and 5% in Galway.
• This compares to 1,201 tech start-ups set up during the same period last year

This report is compiled by credit and business risk analyst Vision-net. For more information, check out Vision-net's website.

The net worth of Irish households continues to rise

• Household net worth rose by 0.6% in Q2 2015 to 600.1 billion euro.
• That works out as €129,454 per household.
• Household debt also continued to fall, reaching its lowest level since 2006 at 33,056 euro per household

To find out more check out Central Bank Quarterly Financial Accounts.

Services and Manufacturing see continued growth in October

• The Investec Services and Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Indexes posted 60.1 and 53.6 respectively in October
• A Purchasing Managers' Index is an indicator where any result over 50 indicates expansion in business activity
• The Services PMI saw employment continue to increase, registering 61, and confidence remain strong, posting 76.7
• Manufacturers saw new orders post 56.7 and employment record 53.5

To find out more check out Investec Irish PMIs.