Unemployment continued to drop last month, with the jobless total now touching levels last seen in 2001. Una McCaffrey reports.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday show that the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by 1,300 to 155,900 over the course of February.
The fall, which comes after eight months of similar declines, offers the latest sign of tightening conditions in the labour market. The buoyant jobs picture has already been highlighted this week by the CSO's Quarterly National Household Survey.
The CSO said yesterday the new Live Register numbers represented an unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent, steady on the January figure. This leaves unemployment in the Republic at less than half the euro-zone average of 8.8 per cent.
Bloxham chief economist Alan McQuaid said yesterday that he expected unemployment to edge down towards 4 per cent as 2005 progresses.
Almost 15,000 people signed off the Live Register in the 12 months to the end of February. This marked a slight quickening on the pace of the annual fall recorded in January.
A breakdown of the February figures before they were adjusted for seasonal factors shows that jobless numbers fell in all parts of the Republic over the month.
The largest decline of 2 per cent came in the border and south-west regions. Tipperary North was the county area with the biggest fall. Five counties witnessed a slight increase in jobless numbers: Waterford, Cavan, Kildare and Longford.
Mr McQuaid welcomed the overall jobs trend but noted that employment growth will probably slow a touch this year as the construction boom starts to tail off.
He believes, however, that falling growth in construction employment will be balanced against a jobs spurt in the services sector as the economy enjoys a greater feel-good factor.
The decline in the Live Register was also welcomed by the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed. Policy officer June Tinsley said she was particularly heartened by the even regional spread in the decreasing jobless total.
