THE Government has said it will introduce a new method of calculating the level of unemployment, after figures showing a further rise of 800 in the Live Register last month.
As the political row continued over the Coalition's employment policy and the relevance of the Live Register, the Government said it would initiate the new measure from next January.
The Central Statistics Office will conduct a household survey quarterly in an attempt to give a more accurate picture of the level of unemployment and job creation. The results of the first survey will be available next April or May.
A Government spokesman repeated the Coalition's view that the live register, which will continue to be calculated, did not represent the reality of the unemployment situation but reflected the number of people who were entitled to social welfare benefits. It was a more accurate representation of the people on welfare than those looking for work.
However, both Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats said the rise in the live register figure was evidence of Government failure.
