Slight relief in the latest Live Register figures

5 Sep 2003

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed welcomes the decrease of 900 people in the seasonally adjusted figures for August as revealed in the latest Live Register figures. However, this comes alongside an annual increase of 12,400 people claiming an unemployment payment.

‘This monthly decrease although welcome, does not include the latest redundancies that are being announced with alarming frequency and therefore should not be taken as the beginning of a downward trend’, said June Tinsley, Policy Officer INOU. ‘All regions and sectors are being affected by the loss of jobs as the Live Register figures show that the number of claimants increased in all but one region. The Government must prioritise job creation in these areas to prevent a further rise in long-term unemployment and the desolation of marginalised communities.

‘The standardised unemployment rate is now 4.5% and it is predicted to exceed 5% by the end of the year. Unfortunately, this prediction is becoming more of a reality with every factory closure announced along with cuts to the services and supports to unemployed people to assist them to (re)enter the labour market such as Community Employment and Jobs Initiative schemes’, she added.