Unemployment benefit claims rose sharply in November

THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased last month and staff lay-offs have also risen by close to a third this year.

News of the soaring numbers on the Live Register came after the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment revealed that redundancies for the year are up by 28%. To date this year 23,556 people have lost their jobs.

The live register now stands at just under 159,000, and when seasonally adjusted the numbers rose by 2,200 in November. The increase is made up of 1,400 men and 800 women.

Compared to the same time last year there are 5,286 more people signing on.

There has been a steady increase in the numbers throughout the year, and 11,515 extra people are claiming unemployment assistance since the start of the year.

The unemployment rate was also on an upward curve in November and it now stands at 4.4% in comparison to 4.2% at the end of April.

These latest figures mean jobs will become even scarcer in the coming months according to Labour’s Enterprise spokesperson, Brendan Howlin.

“Nothing was done in the Budget to stimulate job creation and indeed the cuts in funding in the 2003 estimates for crucial job creation bodies such as, Enterprise Ireland, IDA and SFADCO will inevitably make the search for new jobs even more difficult,” Mr Howlin said.

There was a rise in numbers signing on in most regions throughout the country with the largest increases in the mid-west, at 3.1%, and the west, at 2.2%.

The lowest increases came in the Border region, 0.8% and there was a 0.5% decrease in Dublin. Numbers of women signing on went up in four regions and fell in another four.

The most significant female increase was in the south-west, 2%, and the biggest drop was in Dublin, -2.6%.

Some 29,506 persons joined the Live Register in November 2002 with 28,576 exiting, which left a net increase of 930 people.

During the month the number of part-time workers comprised 7,832 men and 11,837 females.

Each week in November there was an increase of 186 people on the register, with 5,901 new claimants signing on, and 5,715 signing off, at the close of the month.

The Live Register is made up of returns to the CSO office by all offices of Department of Social and Family Affairs nationwide.

Members of the public aged under 65 years who are claiming unemployment benefits and social welfare payments are included in the register.