Top jobless blackspots revealed

THE west Cork town of Bantry has emerged as one of the country’s biggest unemployment black spots, according to official figures.

The social welfare office in the harbour town has seen a 174.8% growth in the number of people signing on the Live Register over the past 12 months — the highest percentage increase of any of the country’s 122 main jobless centres.

A total of 1,110 people are now claiming dole payments in Bantry compared to just 404 a year ago — an increase of 706.

Other areas to show dramatic increases in the number of people on the Live Register include Killarney (up 160%, or 1,824, to 2,964) and Loughrea, Co Galway (up 146%, or 1,415, to 2,383).

Increases in the number of people on the Live Register were recorded in every location over the past year. However, the Donegal town of Killybegs has shown the lowest annual increase (up 38%) followed by Clifden, Co Galway (up 42%) and Achill, Co Mayo (up 47%.).

New figures from the Central Statistics Office show the numbers on the Live Register, across all regions of Ireland in June, were up 5.5% on average.

The national unemployment rate rose to 11.9% last month as a 21,721 extra people signed on, bringing the overall total on the Live Register to 418,592.

On a monthly basis, the number of people on the Live Register in the Dublin suburb of Rathfarnham jumped by over 11% in June compared to May — an increase of 518 to 5,171.

Other areas to record significant increases over the past month were Castlebar, Co Mayo (up 11%) and Roscrea, Co Tipperary (up 9.4%)

On a more positive note, a number of centres recorded a slight decrease in the number of people on the Live Register during June.

In Co Kerry, jobless welfare claimants in Kenmare fell by over 7%, while Dingle also saw a 6% reduction in numbers on the Live Register.

On a regional basis, the west recorded the biggest increase in numbers on the Live Register in June.

However, Dublin’s commuter belt, which covers counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, has seen the biggest increase in numbers on the Live Register over the past year — up almost 109%.

CSO figures also show that foreign nationals are more likely to be on the Live Register than Irish citizens. Foreign workers now account for over 19% of all people on the Live Register, although they only make up 15.6% of the labour force.

Almost 81,000 non-Irish nationals are now out of work.

Although the Live Register does not strictly measure unemployment — as it also allows part-time, seasonal and casual workers to claim entitlements — it is still regarded as a useful barometer of jobless figures.

The latest official CSO unemployment figures show that 222,800 were unemployed at the end of March 2009.