Unemployment rate - Great but...

The unemployment rate of 5.1% recorded by the CSO yesterday is just over a quarter of what it was when the 16% peak of 2012.

Unemployment has fallen persistently since then and the rate is below the level predicted by the Department of Finance for 2019 and 2020.

This in any man's language, is a spectacular turn around, one we are certain to be reminded of repeatedly as the prospect of an election looms over closer.

The architects of this revival do indeed deserve considerable credit but that cannot be unqualified.

As the nature of work changes so too does the nature of employment. The security that is the foundation of society and family - however that is constructed - has become a rarity.

Neither is it churlish to point out that wonderful and all as it is to have a job that pales in a society where house prices soar year on year.

The unemployment rate of 5.1% recorded by the CSO yesterday is just over a quarter of what it was when the 16% peak of 2012.

Unemployment has fallen persistently since then and the rate is below the level predicted by the Department of Finance for 2019 and 2020.