Unemployment remains unchanged at 8.3%

Unemployment was unchanged at 8.3 per cent in August, according to the latest official figures.

The State’s headline jobless rate was recently revised up from 7.8 per cent to 8.3 per cent to take account of changes to the labour force.

The August figures show the number of workers classified as unemployed fell by 1,700 to 181,600 on a monthly basis, but the change was not enough to push the overall rate lower.

The annual decrease was 15,400 or 0.8 per cent. Youth unemployment stood at 17.1 per cent, down from 17.7 per cent a year ago. At the height of the financial crisis in 2012 the jobless rate among 15-24-year-olds in the Republic reached 31.3 per cent.

The figures show the unemployment rate for men was 9.5 per cent in August, down from 10.6 per cent a year, while the jobless rate for women was 6.8 per cent, down from 7.4 per cent 12 months ago.

The seasonally adjusted number of males unemployed in August was 113,600, a decrease of 600 on the previous month.

The seasonally adjusted number of females unemployed was 68,000, a decrease of 1,100 when compared to July.

Merrion analyst Alan McQuaid said the latest numbers were “slightly better” than expected, but warned the outlook had become more uncertain because of Brexit and increased labour market participation.

“Still, we expect the downward trend in unemployment to continue over the remainder of this year, albeit at a slower pace than before.”

However, Isme, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, said job-creation was still being hampered by relatively high business costs.

“Jobs growth will be slow as long as costs increase. We have the third highest electricity prices in Europe, our excessive insurance costs are totally unjustified, increasing by 38 per cent over the last year, and our bank interest rates continue at more than the euro zone average,” said Isme chief executive Mark Fielding.

“Economic uncertainty is increased by trade unions’ astronomical wage claims which Government, the largest single employer, must defend. Wages are by far the largest percentage of business costs,” he said, noting Ireland’s wage profile was out of line with competitor countries