The number of people unemployed in the Republic has fallen below 100,000 for the first time in 19 years, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. These are based on the quarterly national household survey, which is generally accepted as the most accurate measure of unemployment in the State.
The survey was introduced in 1997 and strict comparisons with earlier figures are not possible. Nevertheless, the figures show a drop of 43,500 in the number of unemployed in the year ending February 1998 and an increase in the number at work of 71,900. The last time the number of unemployed fell below 100,000 was 1980. The following year it rose to 126,000.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, welcomed the figures released yesterday and said they showed "the tiger economy is benefiting all sectors of society". She said unemployment now stood at 5.8 per cent and long-term unemployment at 2.6 per cent of the labour force.
The Labour Party spokesman on Finance, Mr Derek McDowell, gave it a more qualified welcome. He focused on the rise in the number of "marginally attached" people in the workforce - those who had not actively sought work in the previous month. He said there was a danger that this group of predominantly long-term unemployed people with low skill levels, would be left behind.
The figure for marginally attached unemployed rose from 17,100 in the quarter ending to November 1998 to 19,300 in the quarter ending February 1999. However, this still well below the recent peak of 20,800 in the quarter ending August 1998.
The general secretary of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, Mr Mike Allen, said if the Government was seriously committed to ensuring everyone benefited from the economic boom, "they must set real targets to eradicate poverty and not simply leave the fate of thousands of citizens to the luck of the market".
The Irish Business and Employers Confederation also called on the Government to target the long-term unemployed. IBEC director Mr Brian Geoghegan said the economy was rapidly approaching full employment.
He also called on the Government to increase the supply of housing and childcare facilities to attract women and people who emigrated in the 1980s back into the labour market. Reduced taxation for the low and medium income earner and more training resources for the unemployed were needed.
The Workers Party described the figures as a "fabrication" and pointed out that there were 197,395 people signing on the live register last month.
The dramatic fall in the number of long-term unemployed, especially the 8,000 drop in the fourth quarter of 1998, coincides with the introduction of the Government's National Manpower Plan, requiring under-25s signing on for over a year to attend for interview at their local FAS office. Another striking feature of the figures is the drop of 38,000 in the size of the workforce between August and September 1998. This is largely accounted for by students returning to full-time study.
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