One in four out of work in January as Level 5 lockdown takes effect

The Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate, including those on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), rose to 25% in January, up from 19.4% in December. Picture: Larry Cummins

One in four people were out of work in January, as the most recent lockdown came into full effect new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate, including those on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), rose to 25% in January, up from 19.4% in December.

The figures, an estimate based on the Live Register and Covid-19 related claims, show young people continue to bear the brunt of pandemic unemployment with the youth unemployment rate now at 56.4% for persons aged 15 - 24 years.

The CSO noted at least 8% of PUP recipients are attending full-time education during the current academic year.

Commenting on the COVID-19 Adjusted Measures of Unemployment, CSO statistician Catalina Gonzalez said caution should be exercised when interpreting the figures, particularly for those under 25 years.

“If the PUP scheme did not exist, those persons, being in full-time education, would not be eligible to receive Unemployment Assistance or Unemployment Benefit and so would not be included in the methodology to estimate the traditional measure of monthly unemployment.” The main unemployment rate was unchanged from December at 5.8% this January, up 5.1% from January 2020.

Jack Kennedy, economist at global job site Indeed said today’s figures show the return to national lockdown has “applied the brakes to the economy once more.” 

“With the country facing several more months under tight restrictions, the rapid roll-out of the vaccination programme is now vital, both for public health and for the health of the economy.” 

Mr Kennedy said it will be interesting to see how many of the changes the pandemic has brought are here to stay.

“We’ve seen significant behavioural change affect industries like retail, with high street shops suffering from lack of footfall and ultimately closing. It's possible we will see the job profile in this industry transform as it moves from bricks and mortar to more online selling.” 

“We saw a rise in warehouse and delivery jobs last year, it now looks like this could be less of a temporary trend and more of a cultural shift," he said.