LEO VARADKAR is targeting the creation of 50,000 new jobs in 2020.
The Taoiseach stressed that his government wants to see the continuation of a fall in unemployment rate in the country, and says he's aiming to achieve a new "record high" in terms of employment.
"Jobs will be gained, jobs will be lost, there’s always a certain amount of churn in the labour market, but we want to be in a position to create 50,000 new jobs next year," said Varadkar.
"That will deliver a new record high in terms of employment in Ireland.
"We know from the past year that the best way to reduce poverty, to create prosperity, to create opportunity, is to ensure that more people are at work and that people at work have well-paid, secure jobs with pension rights.
"We can never become complacent about our economy or complacent about job creation and we’re not going to allow that to happen. We’re going to continue to focus on jobs in the economy just as much as we did when the country was in recession."
In the last five years, unemployment rates have been dropping in skilled trades, from 13% in 2013 to just 2.6% in 2018, according to SOLAS, Ireland's Further Education and Training Authority.
The number of people entering employment in 2018 also increased by 63,000, bringing the total employed in Ireland up to 2.26 million.
It's also been suggested that the creation of 50,000 new jobs could go some way into alleviating the enduring homelessness problem in Ireland.
