Midlands and south-east worst hit by downturn, says economist

PEOPLE in the midlands and south-east have endured the worst impact of the economic downturn, economist Jim Power told those attending yesterday’s National Rural Development conference in Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Those two regions urgently need rural enterprise to be nurtured and a sustainable economic model to be developed, he told the 250 rural entrepreneurs and rural development activists at the conference which was run by the National Rural Network, Teagasc and LEADER.

“At the end of September last year unemployment nationally stood at 13.9%. It was 17.6% in the south-east region and 17.3% in the midland region. The figure for Dublin was 11.8%,” Power said.