ISME: Govt 'burying its head in the sand' over job losses

ISME has warned that the jobs market is "in crisis" and "the Government is burying its head in the sand", after a CSO report revealed unemployment here has risen more than 9,000 over the past month to 6%.

The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association outlined that the situation will only get worse unless the Government start governing and take affirmative action to prevent the labour market going into freefall.

The latest live register figures confirm that 247,000 people are signing on’, up 73,178 on the corresponding period last year, representing an increase of 42%.

Since the start of the year the numbers on the live register have increased by 36%.

Mark Fielding ISME Chief Executive said: "With over 23,000 redundancies already announced this week and a record increase in the live register, we have now reached a crossroads with regard to the direction of the economy.

"We can either continue to watch job losses mount on a daily basis, or the Government can bring us in a different direction by addressing public sector expenditure, tackling the business cost environment and the introduction of innovative policies to revitalise the economy.

"Unfortunately, the signs are not good; as hundreds of people are losing their jobs on a weekly basis, the Government continues to bury its head in the sand."

Mr Fielding said that, due to cost pressures, "many small businesses are reducing working hours and wage rates in order to survive".

"Others are being forced to let employees go, many of whom have been with the company for a significant number of years.

"This awful scenario does not seem to have registered, with Government inactivity and Trade Union posturing and greed being the order of the day. If urgent action is not taken, we will be left with lengthening dole queues and a return to the bad old days of the 1980s, which is in nobody’s interest."