Unemployment falls to post-recessionary low of 10.7%

The State’s jobless rate, as measured by the Live Register, has fallen to a post-recession low of 10.7 per cent, a level not seen since March 2009.

Coming on the back of positive exchequer numbers for November, the latest employment figures provide another pre-Christmas boost for the Government.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the number of claimants on the register dropped by 4,100 in November, the 36th consecutive monthly drop.

As a result, the seasonally adjusted register, which includes casual and part-time workers, stood at 367,100.

This gave rise to a standardised measure of unemployment of 10.7 per cent, down from 11 per cent the previous month, and down from a recessionary high of 15.1 per cent in early 2012.

However, it should be noted that the 83,000 people on Government-backed job activation schemes are not counted as part of the Live Register, which masks the true level of unemployment somewhat.

Nonetheless, the new figures represent an unadjusted annual decrease of 38,860 or 9.9 per cent.

The number of long-term claimants, those out of job for more than a year, on the register was 166,472, down 13,286 or 7.4 per cent on an annual basis.

Nonetheless, the figures showed the number of long-term claimants increased as a proportion of the total. In November, 47.2 per cent of all those on the register were long-term claimants compared to 45.9 per cent in the same month last year.

The figures show the number of claimants aged under 25 has decreased by 10,848 or 18.2 per cent in the past 12 months.

In terms of previous employment, craft and related workers remains the largest occupational group on the register, accounting for 19.9 per cent of the total.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said the latest figures provided further confirmation that the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs was working.

“Many people are not yet feeling the effects, and with unemployment still close to 11 per cent we have a long way to go.”

“However today’s figures can give people further confidence that if we continue implementing our plan, we can continue to grow the economy, create jobs, reduce unemployment and ultimately create a better country for people to live in,” he said.

Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash also acknowledged recovery was not “being felt in the pockets of everyone in the country as yet.”

“That is why the partial restoration of the Christmas bonus by the Tánaiste Joan Burton this week, which sees 1.23 million pensioners, lone parents, carers and jobseekers benefit, is particularly welcome,” he said.

Ibec’s chief economist Fergal O’Brien said: “Companies remain upbeat and are continuing to hire. The drop in unemployment should translate into greater consumer spending and further positive knock on effects across the economy.”

Investec economist Philip O’Sullivan said, however, despite the positive momentum there were “insufficient employment opportunities” for young people, noting the ratio of over-25 year olds to under-25 year olds on the register was continuing to widen

“This trend suggests that emigration remains a very real phenomenon for many of Ireland’s young people in particular,” he said.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association again warned that despite the positive macro-economic figures relatively high business costs were continuing to hamper recovery as indigenous SMEs struggle.