Number on Live Register hits highest level in 20 years

THE NUMBER of people receiving unemployment benefits rose by 5,800 in June, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The increase brings the seasonally adjusted total number of people signing on the Live Register to 444,900, the highest level recorded in 20 years.

The Live Register includes people who work part-time, and seasonal and casual workers entitled to jobseekers’ allowance or jobseekers’ benefit.

An additional 1,450 people signed on every week in June, some 200 fewer than the number who signed on weekly in May.

There were an estimated 41,790 male and 37,447 female casual and part-time workers on the Live Register during the month.

The CSO said the standardised unemployment rate in June was 13.4 per cent. This compares with 12.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2010.

Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said although the Live Register continued to expand, employment growth inevitably lagged in time behind growth in economic activity.

“Of course unemployment is unacceptably high. But the best way to create and protect jobs is to return to economic growth.”

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Isme) said the true level of unemployment was under-reported, and was reduced by increasing emigration, increased participation on State training initiatives and a significant rise in individuals staying in education.

“These horrendous unemployment statistics confirm the fact that any reported economic growth is ‘jobless growth’ and reflects the reality of what is happening to the labour-intensive SME sector, which is clinging on for dear life,” according to Isme chief executive Mark Fielding.

An increase of 5,800 in a month showed the weakness in the labour market, with many firms still placing people on short-time working or implementing redundancies, said Small Firms Association director Avine McNally.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said that participation in the back to education allowance scheme doubled this year, with 5,600 of the additional 5,800 who joined the Live Register in June on that scheme.

Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar said Ireland was in “a lost decade of stagnation” under the Government.