Live Register continues upward trend
The number of people signing on is continuing to climb, with 457,948 people on the Live Register in June, up 5,000 on the corresponding period last year.
In seasonally-adjusted terms there was an increase of 2,900 people signing on last month.
The standardised unemployment rate now stands at 14.2%, up 1.1% on this time last year and up 0.1% on the previous month.
It comes after the Government announced details of a national internship programme today - offering 5,000 people the chance to work in a company for six to nine months.
Responding to the figures, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) called for clear and decisive Government action to address the "appalling" unemployment situation.
“The Government needs to understand that this is not a popularity contest," ISME Chief Executive Mark Fielding said.
"They must put the interests of the country first and not be influenced by party politics, or vested interest groups, determined to maintain the status quo.
"The decision to reinstate the minimum wage to €8.65 in two days' time is simply pandering to the ‘populists’. No other country in the world would ratchet up pay costs when unemployment is rampant.”
The Small Firms Association (SFA) meanwhile describe the figures as "very disappointing".
"The figures highlight the huge challenges that are being faced to get people back to work and that the focus on job creation is getting more critical by the day," SFA Assistant Director Avine McNally said.
“The increase in the number of long term unemployed with over 40% of claimants on the Live Register for over a year is a worrying trend as our ability to create new jobs has been damaged by losses to competitiveness.”
McNally added that if job growth is to be created, it will require the right economic conditions for small firms, such as a reduction in employers' PRSI; reduction in business costs and an overall review of the social welfare system, which acts as a disincentive to work.
“This is the only way to solve the jobs crisis," she said.
Employers' group IBEC said that the latest figures, as well as CSO data on retail sector, highlight the weakness of the domestic economy and the continuing gulf between Ireland's export performance and domestic economic activity.
"One of the reasons we are still losing jobs in the domestic economy is because consumers are too afraid to spend," IBEC chief economist Fergal O'Brien said.
"To get the economy growing solidly again we urgently need to break this downward spiral.
"Measures such as the National Internship Scheme, launched by Government today, are essential to get people connected to the workplace again."
