State funds training for 59,000 jobless

There were nearly 59,000 long-term unemployed people on state-funded training courses in August, new CSO figures show.

While high, the total is nearly 2,000 fewer than was the case in July and is nearly 7,000, or 10.3%, lighter when measured on a year-on-year basis.

So-called ‘activation programmes’ are mainly targeted at people who have been out of work for over a year and lone parents looking to retrain with a view to returning to the workforce.

The figures are published along with monthly ‘live register’ data, but do not count as part of those figures.

Yesterday’s live register data showed 7,700 less people on the dole in September, bringing the seasonally adjusted total down to 290,600. On a year-on-year basis, the reduction was 46,311.

This was welcomed by small business representative body Isme. However, the organisation also noted that 130,772 long-term unemployed still make up 46% of all social welfare claimants.

“The emphasis for this government must be on getting the 286,490 people on the dole back to work. This can be achieved by reducing state-controlled costs,” said new Isme chief executive Neil McDonnell.

Isme’s Budget 2017 wish-list includes a reduction in government-influenced business costs to below the EU average, a targeting of capital investment towards job-rich infrastructure, a tackling of the high cost of living, and a reform of the social welfare system to make it more profitable to work.

Reducing state-influenced costs is the way to put money back in people’s pockets, it said.