Unemployment continues to rise

3 Sep 2008

Today the Central Statistics Office released the Live Register figures for August 2008 and not too surprisingly given the economic downturn the upward spiral has continued. The Seasonally Adjusted figure now stands at 235,100: a figure not seen since March 1998.

As Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU noted "In a week when redundancy figures continued to increase dramatically and more than likely next month will surpass the current all time high of 25,769 set in 2003, the INOU was not surprised to see the latest Live Register figures continue to rise".

According to Quarterly National Household Survey for Quarter 2, 2008 unemployment now stands at 115,500 giving a rate of 5.2%. However this Survey only covers the period Mar-May 2008, and since then the Live Register has increased by 28,300; while redundancies increased by 10,030 and to 673 per week. As a consequence the Standardised Unemployment Rate now stands at 6.1%, a figure not seen since December 1998.

"In order to address the current situation it is very important that strong leadership is provided by Government and the necessary agencies," noted Bríd, "Ireland is competing on a global stage and we must find creative and innovative solutions to ensure we cannot only compete but that we lead the way on inclusive forms of economic development".

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, INOU Head of Policy and Media: (01) 8560088 / 086 608 9641