Job losses down 20% on last year but dole queues still increasing

THERE were 20% fewer job losses in the first six months of this year than in the corresponding period last year, according to figures from the Government.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s actual redundancy figures show there were 5,339 job losses in June. That brought the total for the first six months of the year to 33,876. The corresponding figure for 2009 was 42,323.

Separately, Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures show that, in spite of a 9% increase in the total number of the country’s dole claimants over the last 12 months, the numbers of non-nationals on the Live Register has actually decreased by almost 2% over the period.