No time to rest - Unemployment

The latest unemployment figures from the Central Statistics Office show that while Ireland has made considerable progress since the economic crash, we still have some ways to go before we return to pre-recession days, when there was a job for anyone prepared to work for a living.

According to the CSO, the unemployment rate is now 7.8%, well below the euro zone average of 10.2% but still more than two percentage points higher than it is in the North.

If that doesn’t shake us out of any complacency, the fallout from Brexit surely will, as indigenous industry is bound to suffer as sterling continues to weaken against the euro.

If anything should unite our motley Government, eliminating unemployment can. It must remain a priority for the Cabinet.

Statistics can only show so much and often cloud the heartache that unemployment can cause for individuals and families.

While the current jobless figure stands at 7.8%, to the person on the dole it is 100%.