Unemployment on the Rise in QNHS

31 May 2006

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed is concerned at the annual increase in the numbers of unemployed people in the latest Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) for Qtr. 1 of 2006. The number of unemployed people at 88,200 represents an increase of over 6,100 people on the previous year’s figures. This echoes the trend in recent Live Register figures, which last month recorded its highest monthly total in 13 months.

Job creation is needed around the country to provide alternative employment for those losing their jobs through redundancy. 100,000 have been made redundant in the last four years and 2006 is following a similar path. The INOU is worried that new job opportunities, mainly in the services and construction sectors, will be less plentiful than in the recent past. This is due to concerns around globalisation and peaking in the construction industry.

We welcome the reduction in long term unemployment (LTU) by 1,600 to 26,200. While this is the lowest figure for some time, it is clear now that the government will not meet its National Anti Poverty Strategy (NAPS) target to eliminate LTU by 2007. “We in the INOU are calling for concerted action on this issue in the current negotiations on a new social partnership agreement”, said Mr. Eric Conroy, General Secretary.

Table 23 is a new table setting out the educational background of those in the labour force. It shows clearly that better educational attainment, especially upper-second level, leads to significantly reduced risks of unemployment. The INOU has been calling consistently for educational disadvantage to be tackled as a longer-term solution to reducing unemployment and eliminating long term unemployment.