This would increase the likelihood that harmful higher inflation becomes embedded in the economy. The recovery in the labour market Understanding developments in the labour market is key to assessing the current health of the economy more broadly as well as its likely future prospects and I will now discuss the Irish labour market in more detail.
1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  The labour market has recovered strongly in line with the rebound in economic activity from the easing of pandemic-related restrictions. In the fourth quarter of 2021, there were almost 150,000 more people employed than pre-pandemic. This is actually above the levels of employment that we were forecasting before the pandemic in 2019.