Against the healthy economic expansion, the domestic labour market was robust. Employment growth for the whole of 2006 rose to a record 176,000, substantially exceeding the 113,300 jobs created in the year before. While employment gains were recorded across most sectors, the services industry continued to be the main driver, with 34,400 jobs created in the final quarter of the year alone. Overall, the average unemployment rate for 2006 declined to 2.7% from 3.1% a year before.
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