The Hireland initiative helped put 2,000 people in to employment, it claimed today.

Since its launch just four months ago, it said it has received over 4,000 pledges from employers throughout the country and pledges are quickly translating into actual jobs with an estimated 2,000 people have found work through the Hireland system.

A study conducted by Amarach Research last week found that employers that have pledged jobs via Hireland.ie have on average pledged three jobs with two out of every three jobs pledged having already been filled and one in five will be filled later this year. Of these one third are off the Live Register.

Analysing the impact of the Hireland initiative on the Irish economy, The UCD Research Innovation Academy found that hiring one individual from the live register could result in increased public revenue of E379.63 per individual per week. At a rate of 32pc of individuals hired off the live register, if Hireland were to reach its target of 5,000 jobs, this could result in annual savings of over E30,000,000 for the Irish economy.

Speaking earlier today, Co-Founder, Lucy Masterson said; "A growing number of pledges are translating into an ever increasing number of people in actual jobs each day. The Hireland movement is having a real, tangible and positive impact on the Irish economy so much so that seven other countries have been in touch with a view to replicating the model. (Northern Ireland, UK, Portugal, Poland, Spain, Germany, USA). We are seeing a growing confidence amongst employers in the small medium enterprise sector who are poised to return to growth and remain competitive into the future".

"We set out to reach our first milestone of 5,000 by June and we are confident that we will achieve this but need the support of the SME sector to make sure that we reach this important milestone."

The Hireland initiative has also attracted international media attention and it is set to feature in an upcoming BBC documentary addressing the global effects of unemployment. Hireland is being hailed as an example of how people powered movements can have a massive impact on economic stimulation.

Jobs have been pledged in every county across the Republic of Ireland with one in five employers stating that they are having difficulty finding people with the right skills. Many of the businesses involved in the Hireland scheme recognise the importance hiring to help their own business. One in four stated that they hired through Hireland to show that their company is strong and developing while a further 17pc stated that it gave them an advantage over competitors.