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Irish Start to Come Back Home as Economic Recovery Gains Ground

Irish Start to Come Back Home as Economic Recovery Gains Ground

(Bloomberg) -- Ireland bounced back to net migration for the first time in seven years, as the nation’s recovery from the worst economic crash in Western Europe continues.

Some 79,300 people moved to Ireland in the year to the end of April 2016, the government statistics agency said in Dublin on Tuesday. That was a 14 percent increase from a year earlier. The number of people leaving the country fell 6 percent to 76,200.

Irish Start to Come Back Home as Economic Recovery Gains Ground

Irish emigration rose to the highest since the 19th century during the nation’s financial crisis, peaking in 2013. Some of those who left are now returning, as companies ranging from Apple Inc. to Credit Suisse Group AG expand in Ireland. Irish payrolls increased 2.9 percent in the second quarter to just over 2 million, the statistics office said in a separate report Tuesday.

“Employment prospects look very good again in 2016 due to the strong economic recovery,” Alan McQuaid, an economist at Merrion Capital in Dublin, said in a research note.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Flanagan in Dublin at pflanagan23@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael J. Moore at mmoore55@bloomberg.net, Dara Doyle, Kevin Costelloe