70% rise in people out of work in 12 months

THE true extent of Ireland’s unemployment crisis unfolded yesterday as official figures confirmed there was a 69% increase in the number of people out of work last year.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people classified as unemployed jumped by 69,600 to 170,600 during 2008.

The number of people at work fell by 4.1% to just over two million — the biggest annual decrease in employment since official records began in 1975.