Unemployment continues to decline as economy recovers

The unemployment rate is continuing to fall with new figures showing it dropped to 9.3 per cent last month.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate declined from 9.4 per cent in September and from 10.6 per cent for October 2014.

Ireland’s jobless rate compares with a current euro zone average of 10.8 per cent.

According to the latest Central Statistics Office data, the number of people unemployed fell to 203,000 last month, down 1,900 compared to the preceding month and a decline of 24,900 versus the same month a year earlier.

The youth unemployment rate stood at 19.7 per cent for October, down from 20.4 per cent in September.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for men declined from 10.5 per cent in September to 10.3 per cent last month. For October 2014, the male unemployment rate stood at 12.1 per cent.

The unemployment rate for women was unchanged last month versus September at 8.1 per cent but declined from 8.8 per cent for the same month last year.

Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Merrion said while migration has played a role in bringing the jobless rate down from its peak of over 15 per cent during the financial crisis, there is clear evidence of a sharp rise in employment in the past couple of years.

“Labour market conditions continue to strengthen. Consecutive gains in employment have been recorded over the ten quarters to the middle of this year, with some 130,000 additional jobs created since the low-point reached in mid-2012. Furthermore, employment growth remains broad-based, with increases seen in the majority of sectors monitored by the CSO,” said Mr McQuaid.

“With the Irish economy continuing to grow strongly in 2015, an average jobless rate of 9.6 per cent is envisaged for this year down from 11.3 per cent in 2014. We now think the figure at year-end based on these latest CSO numbers will be around the 9.2 per cent level, and falling below the 9 per cent mark in 2016,” he added.

Davy forecast that unemployment could fall to as low as 8.2 per cent next year given the positive outlook for the labour market.

Business group Isme said however that the latest figures showed job creation had slowed and needed to be reinvigorated.