Biggest monthly rise in Live Register

4 Jul 2003

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) expressed grave concern over the Live Register figures for June which shows a monthly rise of 11,747 in the unadjusted and 4,800 in the adjusted figures.

“These are the biggest monthly rises in both counts in recent years”, said Mr. Eric Conroy, INOU General Secretary. “These show that last month’s lull was only a temporary pause in the relentless upward trend in unemployment”. Currently at 4.7%, unemployment is set to rise above 5% before the end of the year. These figures do not take account of the c. 400 jobs which were announced during the week, including the devastating blow to Navan in the closure of Navan Carpets. Dublin was particularly hardest hit this month with over 5,500 more on the dole than this time last year.

The short term future looks very bleak for Irish jobs. The Production Managers Index (PMI survey) is at its lowest level for years at 45.7 and reflects widespread pessimism about business conditions in the economy. It is even lower than the US and a depressed Eurozone. The recent Irish Times/TNS mrbi consumer confidence survey showed that the majority of the public are pessimistic about jobs. 58% expect employment levels to worsen.

In the current climate of deteriorating Live Register figures and worsening employment prospects, it is imperative that the Government makes every effort to provide alternative employment opportunities for unemployed people and newly redundant workers throughout the country. In addition, extra resources and supports must be provided to them to ensure that they do not become long-term unemployed.
In addition, the Government must ensure that there are no impediments to a company’s development, competitiveness and growth. To this end, issues such as the cost of inflation and ever increasing insurance premiums must be addressed. Until these issues are tackled other firms are in danger of closure.