Government urged to put efforts into jobs, not banks

THE Government was urged yesterday to put as much effort into tackling unemployment as the banking crisis as a minister pledged the number of unemployed would fall by around 30,000 in the coming months.

A conference aimed at helping the unemployed improve their skills heard yesterday that the numbers without work seeking help had not been seen since the 1980s.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) made the stark warning as it called on the Government to improve its support for job creation.