Live Register figure rises for fourth month in a row

FOR the fourth month in a row the number of people signing on the dole has increased, with the number on the Live Register now at a record high.

Seasonally adjusted figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show an extra 1,600 people joined the dole queues in August bringing the total to 449,600, the highest figure since records began in 1967.

Ireland’s unemployment rate now stands at 14.4%, up from 14.3% in July.

In unadjusted terms there were 469,713 on the Live Register in August representing an increase of 2,790 (+0.6%) over the year. This increase is slightly less than that recorded in July 2011 (+3,460 or +0.7%) and is far less than the increase of 30,198 (+6.9%) seen in the year to August of last year.

Worryingly, the number of long-term claimants continues to rise with 40.8% of claimants in August having been on the Live Register for one year or more. This compares with 31.8% for the same period last year.

Commenting on the new figures, chief economist with Bloxham Alan McQuaid said things were “unlikely to improve” on the jobs front in the short term.

“The Government is well aware that there is no easy fix to the unemployment problem, and things are unlikely to improve on the jobs front until the economy starts to grow again on a sustained basis,” he said.

Davy chief economist Conall MacCoille said that although the unadjusted numbers fell last month, the decline was smaller than would normally be expected in August given previous seasonal movements, leading to the seasonally adjusted increase.

“However, in a recession, spare capacity within firms (reducing the need for increased summer hiring) means that past seasonal patterns are unlikely to be representative of current conditions. We cannot infer any significant deterioration in labour market conditions from today’s unemployment data,” he said.