Relentless Rise in Numbers Unemployed

3 Dec 2008

Today's Live Register figures issued by the CSO are a further stark reminder of the scale of the unemployment problem facing the country. The seasonally adjusted figure now stands at 277,200. This represents an increase of 106,800 or 63% on the same period last year. The standardised unemployment rate has now reached 7.8%.

Unfortunately, the Live Register figures are not the only ones breaking records. On Monday, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment issued the latest redundancy figures for the month of November which were up 57% on this time last year to an all time high of 37,296. In November, over 5,200 people were made redundant - the highest monthly figure ever recorded.

"Given the current economic situation, it is difficult to see when these figures will stop rising" said Bríd O'Brien, Head of Policy and Media with the INOU. "Indeed, the predictions are that the Live register will continue to rise well into 2009 - what's not clear currently is the possible extent of future increases, but the likelihood is that we've not seen the end of these terrible record breaking figures" Bríd added.

The INOU is calling on all relevant state agencies to maximise their efforts in continuing to attract inward investment to replace the jobs that are being lost and to ensure that the necessary job seeking and other supports are available both to existing unemployed people and those who are losing their jobs.

For further information contact:
Bríd O'Brien, INOU Head of Policy and Media: 086 608 9641