THE NUMBER of redundancies notified to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment during November was 5,271, a 121.5 per cent increase on the figure for November 2007.

This brings the total number of redundancies for the year to date to 37,296, an increase of 57.1 per cent on the cumulative total this time last year. Since 2002 the annual rate has been relatively flat at approximately 23,500-25,500.

As the recession bites, the number of firms seeking voluntary or compulsory redundancies among staff has increased rapidly.

Last Wednesday alone, more than 300 job losses were announced at plants in Galway, Limerick, Wicklow and Kilkenny. These included 110 redundancies at one of Galway's largest employers, Thermo King, and the loss of 70 jobs in Kilkenny next year when ball-bearing manufacturer NN Euroball ceases production at Purcellsinch. The Irish Timeslast month said that it aimed to cut staff numbers by 60 in the coming weeks.

The services sector was hardest hit last month, with 1,819 statutory redundancies notified to the department. The building and civil engineering sector accounted for 1,669 of the overall total of 5,271 while manufacturing and engineering suffered 1,024 job losses.

A total of 3,740 men lost their jobs under the scheme last month, compared to 1,531 women, while 303 part-time employees were made redundant in November.

Jim Curran, head of research with the small business lobby group Isme, said: "The latest figures confirm that the jobs market is in crisis, with a significant 155 job losses being announced on a daily basis. If remedial action is not taken to address the cost environment, the lack of affordable credit and the general uncertainty as a consequence of government inaction, the situation will continue to rapidly deteriorate."