Business ETC uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here to find out more »
Dublin: 12 °C Wednesday 22 May, 2013

Unemployment rate up to 14.9 per cent as over 450,000 people sign on

The standardised unemployment rate rose to 14.9 per cent last month.

Image: Photocall Ireland!

AN EXTRA 2,700 men and women signed onto the Live Register last month, bringing the overall, adjusted figure for June to 440,600.

According to data from the Central Statistics Office, that represents a decrease of 5,974 over the past 12 months, making the unadjusted total 451,974. The trend in the Live Register continues to be one of movement within a small range, the report noted.

The standardised unemployment rate (SUR) was 14.9 per cent, up 0.2 per cent from May 2012.

In the past year, the number of men on the register fell by almost 9,500 but the amount of women claiming jumped by nearly 3,500. There was also a decline of about 8,000 in the number of people under the age of 25 signing on. This is the 24th month-in-a-row where a drop in the number of youths signing on has been seen. The percentage of persons aged under 25 on the Live Register now stands at 17.5 per cent for June 2012, down from 19.0 per cent in June 2011 and 20.2 per cent in June 2010.

There were 199,249 long-term claimants on the Live Register in June, representing an annual increase of over 12,500.

The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment as it includes 88,465 part-time, seasonal and casual workers who are entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance. Unemployment is measured by the Quarterly National Household Survey and the last estimate for the first quarter of 2012 showed a figure of 309,000.

More: Almost 25 million people unemployed across European Union>

Read next:

Comments (43 Comments)

  • Just got a job :) In England though :(

    Reply
  • emigration figures put the drop in ‘youth unemployment’ in context. wonder if some government gombeen will try claim jobs bridge is working instead.

    Reply
  • As a FG/Labour fanboy said yesterday austerity is working …. Yes it is working and here is the proof …..

    Reply
    • Serge 04/07/12 #

      As mentioned above the Live Register is not a great way of measuring unemployment rate. Wait until the next QNHS survey and we will make conclusions then.

      People have always argued whether austerity works or not. Keynesian economics says it makes it worse, Monetarists say it first gets worse but in the long-run it will create stable prices, wages and rising employment.

      Reply
    • A firefighting analogy for economic management.

      “With further study they found that in the pasts forest experienced periodic small fires which cleared the undergrowth and burned up the deadwood. They usually did not reach the crowns and burned themselves out without doing great damage. They triggered the tree seeds to sprout and start a healthy new generation. The mature trees also grew better. The old policy of trying to manage nature was counter productive. The policy was changed to allow the natural cycle to return.

      Keynesian school – All recessions are bad and must be suppressed by government actions. This protects established businesses and jobs. The methods are elaborate and costly, but a benefit to the public overall.

      Austrian school – When markets stray too far from reality they must be purged by adversity. This clears unneeded or failing enterprises so capital is not allocated wastefully, and new businesses can emerge. Periodic small recessions are the price of a healthy economy.

      Recent situation — Unfortunately, after decades of total suppression many forests were overgrown tinder boxes. At Yellowstone National park the “hands off” policy let a fire get completely out of control before they used aggressive suppression. 36% of the park burned and much of this area is still black 20 years later. At Los Alamos a “controlled burn” to clear undergrowth ran away from them and destroyed 400 houses.”
      ChrisMartenson.com

      Reply
  • Beginning and end of every academic year brings a rise and fall in live register numbers. Only difference is that in September the Government of the day claim a victory with reduction in numbers when many of these have only side stepped i to education.

    Reply
  • Where’s PeeedOff?

    Reply
  • Why do people say “do away with the dole” or “force people to do A, B or C” ????

    here’s an idea, Stop pumping money into bondholder’s accounts and create jobs!! :-o

    Reply
  • Those currently on a JobBridge internship are not included in this figures. That and emigration explain why there has been a drop in the number of youths signing on.

    Reply
  • So much for the Jobs,Jobs,Jobs campaign, they have not created one new job, they should hang their heads in shame.

    Reply
  • If you are dependant on the state what are you?

    Reply
  • It’s easier to enslave people who are dependent on the state. They want people on the dole.

    Reply
  • Id hate to see the unemployment rate if we were bad at doing business in Ireland :-0

    Reply
  • Teachers on Summer holidays

    Reply
  • The raid on the pension funds has flopped. Minister Burton should consider his position.

    Reply
  • I’ll try to make it easy for you kerron. They ( the super elite ) have a New World Order agenda to have a one world government, military a corporation if you will with us as employees of this corporation. To do this they first get the people to accumulate a load for debt with the pretext they can pay it back because they have a job. Then “they” pull the plug. Recession. Everyone is up to their eyeballs in debt. Then the jobs go, then the dole Q starts to rise. Private property taken ( unaffordable mortgages) wide spread emigration to get all the people who may resist then the take over begins. Why do u think UB is having this glitch, why have people life assurance policies quadrupled in a month. This is the start of the take over. We must arm ourselves with the knowledge. This is our weapon. They cannot enslave an informed mind

    Reply
  • wheres bruton”s photo ,or does he just appear with job creation …..

    Reply
  • Cut the dole in half then you will cut the numbers on the dole .A lot of them dole merchants do be in the pub where I work and its sicking to see them geting drunk on my tax money.

    Reply
    • You might find yourself out of a job if those you identify as dole merchants have their dole halved?

      Reply
    • Richard, with comments like those about your workplace and as you said “regulars” then I wouldn’t be so shocked if you find yourself on the dole sometime soon.

      Employers check their staffs social media activity after all.

      Reply
    • That’s a very sweeping statement Richard. I agree in parts, there are people on the dole who couldn’t be arsed getting a job but I guarantee you there are a lot more who would love a job. It’s fine to say ‘Cut the dole’ blah blah blah, but if you’re going to do that, the cost of living also has to decrease. What I’m waiting though is for some muppet on Vincent Browne to bring up ‘Use the pension reserve fund to create jobs’. The Pension reserve fund is not a bottomless pit. The reality is that our Government, along with previous ones, are incompetent. It’s easy to be a politician when the funds are rolling in but when you have to stimulate an economy, you start to realise that the lads in the Dail either not up to it or don’t have the necessary qualifications to do so. But hey, He/She fixed the road so that’s grand!!! Examples include The Healy-Rae’s, Ming, Wallace, Mary Lou, Enda, Noonan, Martin. Do these people have genuine business experience (That succeeded) ?

      Reply
    • I will always have a job because I want to work.The people who come to the pub where I work understand only for the likes of me they wouldnt have the dole.The dole money is to high when all the clowns are drunk on mondays.

      Reply
    • Well if they ‘understand only for the likes of me they wouldnt have the dole’ I hope they are forthcoming with an oul’ jar or two!

      Reply
    • Richard by chance are you a troll, you will always have a job, how can you be so certain with such a ludicrously idiotic statement. I consider myself lucky to have a job. Look around you at the people on the dole you call scroungers, many are without work due to no fault of their own. Tens of thousands leaving this country mainly in the 18-30 group, thusly which is going to cause a brain drain in this country. Half of my class of 2005 have left why cause they are unable to get jobs in the areas they studied in. My family is joining the thousands of other families up and down this country with relatives having to make the difficult option of going to another country to make a life for themselves as its no longer attainable here.

      Reply
    • Edel m 04/07/12 #

      And also alot of them are not in the pub and are stuggling as it is.. If they ran this country properly this wouldnt be happening.. Yes their are people out there who are taking advantage but what about the people who are trying and also have kids to feed and clothe.

      Reply
    • France to Raise Tax on Rich today. The plan calls for higher taxes on dividends and oil companies while an increase in France’s wealth tax is expected to yield €2.3 billion, the government said. Ireland could implement similar taxes on the rich who pay very little.

      Reply
  • Maintain high pay at the expense of numbers in employment. Labours way?

    Reply
  • tozyurt 04/07/12 #

    Somebody needs to measure the job vacancies monthly by industry . We could have a healthy debate on the education of the population as well then

    Reply
  • bob 05/07/12 #

    during high times it was around 2% unemployment,which shows people will work.the country is very scary place to be at mo.unemployed numbers do not include the quarter million on part time job seekers?

    Reply
  • The reason that unemployment rises every year at this time is because all in education have finished for the summer, all temporary teachers, sna’s, school cleaners, school wardens etc all sign on for the summer! Huge numbers bringing unemployment to a higher level. Even when we were in a better economic position this happened. Its Not huge news it’s logic!!

    Reply
  • Do away with tax credits and social welfare. Give every citizen a weekly/monthly payment. People could then work as much or as little as they wanted and the payment would not alter. That would stop people on social welfare worrying about working part time and losing their payment or doing contract work. It would level the playing field and do away with unemployment. How many of that 400+ thousand people would start working within 2 months if they got to keep their welfare? I would say about 300,000.

    Reply
    • And where exactly would those 300,000 jobs come from within the two months you mentioned? Do you actually believe it’s that simple? That there is 300,000 jobs somewhere out in the Irish economy just waiting to be filled, but no-one is willing to because they’d loose their social welfare payments?

      Reply
    • Yes Tomo it is that simple. I have at least 10 customers looking for part time staff but can’t fill the positions because it’s not economical for most of the people they interview. Under the current system if an employer is looking for a part time worker from 9am-1pm five days a week that employee loses all of they’re social welfare, so they won’t take the job! So how does that make sense? There are absolutely thousands of jobs out there, not as well paid as a lot of people would have been used to, but there are jobs out there and we need to change the system to motivate people to get back into the workplace. People have to realise they are not going to walk into the perfect job. I know a carpenter that tells me there’s no work out there for carpenters at the minute, do something else in the meantime then, would be my answer. I could, if I wasn’t picky about the work, start 10 jobs within one week. Guaranteed.

      Reply

Add New Comment