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.

Mr Power pointed out that notified redundancies, which increased by 12.9% in February compared to the same month last year, represent just one side of the employment equation and say nothing about employment creation.

“The economy is still a net creator of jobs and this is keeping the overall numbers employed up. However, it is significant that the jobs being created are, in the main, part-time, relatively low-paid, and predominantly in the hospitality and public sectors.

“Every single component of manufacturing, from the large multi-national sectors to the smallest SME, have shed jobs over the past couple of years,” Mr Power said.

Meanwhile, it also emerged yesterday that 120 jobs are to go at a cable manufacturing company in north Dublin, which was described as a huge blow by Tánaiste Mary Harney.

Wessel Industries, based in Ireland for nearly 50 years, blamed market conditions for the job losses.

In a statement, Wessel Industries said the redundancies at its plant in Finglas will take place over 12 months. The company plans to consolidate its operations in Longford, where it employs more than 100 people and said it will work to ensure fair redundancy packages for the workers.

Ms Harney expressed her dismay at the closure of the Jamestown Business Park plant, and said finding alternative employment for the workers is a priority.