Government urged to rethink jobs strategy

THE Government has been urged to reassess its jobs strategy after the unemployment rate rose to 14.4%.

Official figures revealed the long-term unemployed accounted for 56.3% of those out of work between July and September, with 177,200 people on the dole queue for over a year.

The CSO said unemployment rose by 15,700 over the previous year to the third quarter, coming to 314,700.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions said a major investment and job creation programme was urgently needed to combat rising unemployment.

Congress chief economist Paul Sweeney said that the Government had to focus all its energy on getting people back to work.

“We urgently need a major new jobs plan from Government,” he said.

“The continued imposition of austerity is decimating the economy and the recent budget will only serve to make the situation worse. It will cost us more jobs.”

ISME, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association, urged the Government to reassess its jobs plan by emphasising supporting enterprise and job creation.

Chief executive Mark Fielding said: “The recent budget was lauded by Government as a budget for jobs, it was anything but. Increasing costs to business through VAT, motor and carbon taxes and reducing the redundancy rebate sends out the wrong message to the employment creating enterprise sector.

“Businesses are now forced to look at ways to reduce costs even more, with remaining employment an obvious target.”

The CSO said the total labour force was more than 2.1 million in the third quarter of 2011 — down 30,200 — with the total at work down 46,000 to 1.8m. The number of unemployed included 206,200 men and 108,600 women.

Business group IBEC said that the latest quarterly national household survey highlighted the urgent need to deliver reform. Reetta Suonpera, IBEC’s senior economist, said: “Rising long-term unemployment and falling labour market participation means that Government must urgently deliver on reform of the employment services to help people get back into work and prevent the current high level of unemployment from becoming entrenched.”