Majority of new jobs ‘low-paid or part-time’

MOST jobs being created in Ireland are low-paid and part-time, one of the country’s leading economists warned.

While Friends First chief economist Jim Power said the latest unemployment figures showed the number of people claiming benefit or assistance dropped last month, he felt the quality of jobs being created had deteriorated considerably in the last number of years.

The number of people on the live register, which includes part-time, seasonal and casual workers, dropped by just over 1,400 last month, to 173,127. The unemployment rate, calculated separately, is 4.7%. Seasonally adjusted, the number dropped by 900. The number of casual or part-time workers on the register was 23,000, including over 14,000 females.