Government promises more schemes for long-term unemployed
The Government is promising more schemes to get people who are in long-term unemployment back into work.
New Live Register figures show over 700 people have been on the dole for more than 20 years.
8,633 people have been unemployed for more than 10 years.
That is despite the government bringing in schemes run by Turas Nua and Seetec to identify long-term unemployed people and find work for them.
Enterprise Minister Heather Humphreys has said a new plan next month will aim to get jobs for them.
Minister Humphreys said: "Some women, in particular, have been rearing families and now they may be ready to go back into the workforce, but we also want to look at those who have been long term unemployed to see how we can make work attractive for them to come back to work and to encourage them to do that."
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2018 was 5.3%, unchanged from November 2018, and down from 6.2% in December 2017 according to the Central Statistics Office.
