The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has described the slowdown in employment growth as "extremely worrying and further proof that Government must now intervene directly to stimulate job creation and boost growth."
Congress Assistant General Secretary Sally Anne Kinahan said the fall in job creation revealed in the CSO figures demanded urgent Government attention:
"It is quite clear that new jobs are not being created in sufficient numbers to boost growth and spur recovery, with seasonally adjusted employment growing by just 1,700 jobs in the first quarter of this year.
"Additionally, a substantial number of jobs that have come on board in the last twelve months are in Agriculture and Accommodation and Food Services, which tend to be low paid and insecure.
"We now need an urgent intervention in the form of a programme of investment that will get people back to work, if we are to have any hope of recovery.
"Clearly, current initiatives are not generating new jobs in the numbers required and Congress has outlined on a number of occasions how a credible stimulus package could be funded and generate work for tens of thousands of people," Ms Kinahan said.
'the domestic economy remains weak, with sectors like Wholesale and Retail still shedding jobs, as spending cuts have reduced the amount of money in circulation.
"We need to reverse the downward deflationary spiral and start reflating the economy with a programme of investment," Ms Kinahan said.
