Number of long-term unemployed doubles
The number of long-term unemployed more than doubled over the last year, it was revealed today.
Official figures showed 112,600 people had been out of work for a year or more by the end of March, accounting for 40% of all those on the dole.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said Ireland’s unemployment rate of 12.3% was 3.1% above the EU average.
IBEC, the group that represents Irish business, demanded Government policy urgently focus on measures to address the growing problem of long-term unemployment.
Fergal O’Brien, senior economist, maintained the worst of the job losses are over.
“Employment in the majority of sectors has stabilised over the past couple of quarters, and some of the high-tech sectors have actually recorded a little job growth over the past year,” he said.
“However, job losses are continuing in the construction sector and there is no evidence yet that this sector has bottomed out.
“Government’s response to the unemployment problem must now move from crisis management to more strategic measures needed to address the rapidly growing long-term unemployment problem.”
The CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey for the first three months of this year revealed 2.1 million people were available to work.
Of those more than 1.85 million held down jobs or were self-employed – down 108,000 over the year – while the numbers unemployed rose to 275,000, including 195,000 men and 80,000 women.
The CSO said 52,200 new people signed on over the year, with 7,600 of those losing their job since Christmas.
Meanwhile the number of long-term unemployed increased by 63,500 to 112,600.
“The long-term unemployment rate now stands at 5.3% compared with 2.2% in the first quarter of 2009 and 1.3% in the first quarter of 2008,” it stated.
Some 50,000 jobs were lost in the construction sector during the year – a 50% drop since its peak in 2007 – while another 40,000 posts went in the agriculture, forestry and fishing and industry sectors.
Employment fell by 86,500 in the southern and eastern regions and 21,400 in the border, midland and western areas – with early school-leavers worst affected.
At the same time the numbers in the labour force dropped due to outward migration, non-Irish nationals returning home and workers reaching retirement age.
Mr O’Brien said while the unemployment rate now looks fairly close to its peak, this was due to falling participation rates and outward migration.
“The participation rate has dropped by nearly 3% over the past two years as many people have stopped seeking work,” he said.
“Emigration continues to moderate the unemployment rate and it is estimated that about 60,000 non-nationals have left Ireland over the past year. This represents a further difficulty for many businesses involved in the domestic economy.”
Paul Sweeney, economic adviser to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) claimed Ireland’s true unemployment rate could be close to 20%.
Mr Sweeney claimed the data significantly underestimated the numbers out of work and the scale of the social and economic devastation in communities across the country.
“When you add in the tens of thousands who have been forced to emigrate, the tens of thousands who have stayed in or returned to education for the same reason and the many thousands who want full time work but can only get part time or casual jobs, you get a more accurate picture of the scale of the problem and its huge social impact,” said Mr Sweeney.
“Taking those numbers into account, the true unemployment figure could be close to 20%.”
He maintained the CSO itself had calculated this rate – comprising the unemployed and “discouraged workers” – as having risen to 17%.
“Congress believes the figure is actually higher,” he added.
“We need a major reordering of Government priorities with people placed firmly before banks and private profit.
“Their deflationary policies are taking money out of the economy and destroying jobs.”
