Live Register Total Rising with Youth Unemployment Rising Significantly

2 Dec 2005

The INOU is concerned at the November Live Register (LR) figures, which shows a second consecutive adjusted monthly increase: of 1,100 to 157,700 (on top of a small rise of 200 in October). This is the highest LR figure since August. However, the INOU is particularly worried at the high and rising levels of youth unemployment (those under 25 years of age).

This category now stands at 31,200 (seasonally adjusted), which is the highest since September 2004. In addition, the male ratio of 58.7% is the highest in recent years.
These figures are borne out by the release of the QNHS earlier this week. Youth unemployment has increased significantly in the quarter to 9.7%, which is well over twice the national average. This reflects high youth unemployment across Europe. “Society must examine why such high numbers of our youth are ending up in unemployment after leaving education”, said Mr. Eric Conroy, General Secretary of the INOU. “We in the INOU are calling for labour market measures to reduce youth unemployment. Furthermore we should explore the need for gender-specific proposals to counteract the particular rise in male youth joblessness”, he added.