Labour Party warns against complacency on jobs front

The Labour Party has warned against complacency on the jobs front after the Central Statistics Office reported a fall in the number of people signing on last month.

The CSO said the seasonally-adjusted Live Register figure for January 2005 was 157,200, a fall of 2,100 compared to December 2004.

However, Labour spokesman Brendan Howlin said the figures did not take account of recently announced lay-offs, including the 161 job losses announced by Schering Plough in Co Cork yesterday.

"While we have a very good rate of employment in this country, we certainly have no room for complacency," he said.