SOME 210 redundancies were recorded every day in 2009 according to new figures released by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the highest figure recorded to date.
A total of 77,001 redundancies were received by the department under the redundancy scheme between January and December 2009. This represents almost a 90 per cent increase on the 2008 figures when 40,607 redundancies were recorded.
The majority of redundancies were in the service industry with 26,952 redundancies, representing 35 per cent of all job losses last year.
Other sectors which saw major job losses included the building and civil engineering sector, which shed almost 19,000 jobs.
Manufacturing also experienced significant job losses, recording almost 17,500 redundancies.
Together these two sectors represented 47 per cent of redundancies recorded in 2009.
Females accounted for almost a third of redundancies.
Avine McNally, assistant director of the Small Firms Association (SFA) said the figures posed a stark reminder of the difficulties faced by small businesses operating in Ireland and called for immediate action to tackle the jobs crisis.
“There is a clear need for the Government to now prioritise the restoration of cost competitiveness to the small business sector, which is the only way to stop the haemorrhage of jobs,” she said.
Ms McNally called for the elimination of employers’ PRSI for all new job-creation and to reduce PRSI to support the maintenance of existing jobs as well as reducing energy costs and commercial rates to business.
Both the SFA and Isme, the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association), have also called for the employment subsidy scheme to be expanded to include companies with fewer than 10 employees, who are currently excluded from any employment maintenance assistance.
Isme chief executive Mark Fielding said the Government was ignoring the plight of smaller businesses. “Nobody in authority seems to realise the extent of the problem in indigenous businesses and in small and micro businesses in particular,” he said. “To date, all we have is a piecemeal approach, with no evident overall enterprise strategy in place.”
The redundancy figures are based on Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment statistics and represent statutory redundancy payments made to employees who had completed at least two years service with the same employer.
