Number of people in full-time employment falls

The amount of people in full-time employment fell by 193,200 on an annual basis, according to official figures released today.

The Central Statistics Office showed declines in both males (152,500) and female (40,800) in full-time employment.

There was an increase of 26,400 in the numbers employed part-time however, with male part-time employment increasing 25,300 over the year while female part-time employment increasing by 1,000 over the same period.

There were 267,400 people unemployed in the fourth quarter of 2009, an increase of 97,700 (+57.6%) in the year. Male unemployment increased by 72,000 (61.5%), with the number of unemployed females increasing by 25,800 (49%).

When seasonal factors are taken into account there was a quarterly increase of 10,100 in the numbers unemployed with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increasing from 12.5% to 13.1% over the quarter.

Employment rates fell the most in the Border, Midland and Western regions followed then by the South and Eastern Regions.

They also fell across all age groups - with 20 to 24 year olds hit the hardest.