Behind the statistics, a hidden but healthy jobs boom is going on

WITH news one week of potentially catastrophic job losses and the next of the latest tranche of inward investment creating new employment, getting an accurate picture of the jobs market is confusing, at best. So, what is going on?

A look at the latest Live Register statistics from the CSO is a good place to start. Figures released last week show that there were 442,200 people on the Live Register in September. This is a modest drop (-1.2%) on the previous month but brighter news is that this number has undoubtedly stabilised.

Since May 2010, the numbers on the Live Register have fluctuated between 440,000 and 448,000, so there has been no meaningful increase in the overall numbers for well over 12 months. Looking a little deeper into the statistics, we can see a dynamic that is even more encouraging for jobseekers.