Live Register on the Rise

9 Aug 2005

The INOU is concerned that the July live register figures show the highest two-month rise in the unadjusted figure for two years and an upward trend in the adjusted series over the last three months. Thus the standardised unemployment rate has edged up to 4.3%.

‘Numbers signing on have increased by 17,700 in June and July and the adjusted series has increased by 4,200 since April’ said Eric Conroy, General Secretary INOU. ‘These figures show that we must not get complacent about unemployment in Ireland. While jobs are being created in the economy, many other jobs are being lost through redundancy, especially in the manufacturing sector’. Last week, the INOU noted that the revised amount for redundancies in 2004 was nearly 25,000, bringing it close to the 2003 figure, which itself was the highest in the last 20 years.

‘Commentary in political and media circles that we are near full employment is wide of the mark’, added Mr. Conroy. ‘Attention in recent days on the c. 150,000 on the live register by the Minister of Social