Long-term joblessness remains a major problem

During the boom years, the long-term unemployment rate – the proportion out of work for a year or more – fell to a record low of 1.2 per cent.

When the bottom fell out of the economy from 2008 onwards, the rise in unemployment was steep and fast.

Unemployment peaked at just over 15 per cent in late 2011, while long-term unemployment reached its highest level of 9.5 per cent in early 2012.

At the time, more than 200,000 people were classified as long-term claimants. Reflecting the collapse in the housing sector, former construction workers accounted for 30 per cent all long-term claimants at the height of the downturn, followed by former retail workers (11 per cent) and industry (11 per cent).

Since then, both unemployment and long-term unemployment rates have fallen to 9.9 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively, based on the CSO’s quarterly national household survey for the first quarter of this year.

While they are impressive gains, long-term joblessness remains a major problem.

About 127,000 people are long-term claimants, latest figures show. Of these, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of these were men, a figure which has stayed remarkably consistent both before and after the economic crisis.

Older workers represent a growing proportion of long-term claimants, with the ranks of over-45s swelling from 28 per cent of jobless to 37 per cent earlier this year.

The proportion of young workers – aged under 25 – who were long-term claimants almost halved, from 24 per cent in 2006 to 13 per cent earlier this year.

Arguably, fears of a large “lost generation” didn’t emerge in the way many feared. But the emigration of tens of thousands of young people during the downturn is likely to have contributed significantly to this change.

Education is no longer a protection against long-term joblessness.

In the pre-boom years, so few jobless had third-level degrees that the figures weren’t recorded. Nowadays, about 16 per cent have an ordinary or higher degree.

The scarring effects of long-term unemployment in the 1980s and early 1990s were especially difficult to tackle. Many policymakers say the largely passive response of the welfare system didn’t help.

It’s one reason why many of the initiatives to tackle unemployment in recent years have focused on “activation”, or assisting people get back to work, education or training as soon as possible through advice, placement or referral services.

The model has been widely adopted across Europe, though it’s only now being used in Ireland.

The centrepieces are so-called Intreo offices, which are replacing old-style social welfare offices. They are aimed at providing jobseekers with both income supports and employment services. The individually tailored personal progression plans and job-search assistance – in the one place.

Another is the “JobsPlus” employer incentive scheme, which rewards firm who hire long-term unemployed people from the live register.

An employer can receive a bounty of €7,500 over two years when it recruits a person who has been unemployed for between one and two years. This rises to €10,000 for each person who has been unemployed for more than 24 months.

This was aimed at supporting 2,500 jobseekers; demand has been stronger than expected, leading to a more than doubling of the number to 5,179 employees.

About three in five of them were unemployed for two years or more.