Dublin jobless rate falls below 9%

Unemployment in Dublin has dropped consistently in the past three years and is now below 9 per cent, according to a new economic monitor of the economy of the capital.

The Dublin Economic Monitor, published by the four local authorities in the Dublin area, says unemployment in the region is now 8.9 per cent, down from 13 per cent at the peak of the recession, according to an analysis of the live register.

However, the improvement in the jobs market is less dramatic than elsewhere in the State, with the national recession peak unemployment rates of 15 per cent falling faster to the current level of 10.4 per cent.

Unemployment rates are one of 15 key economic indicators for the capital assessed in the monitor, with another finding showing that the housing market is showing signs of stabilisation on the foot of Central Bank intervention.

With prices having fallen more dramatically in the slump, the recovery has been significantly stronger in Dublin than elsewhere in the State, despite a slight dip in the most recent figures.

Residential rents are also rising strongly in the capital, with the recent measures tightening access to mortgages ensuring no slowdown in the pace of growth.

With rents outside the capital still bumping along the bottom reached during the recessions, the gap between Dublin house rents and those outside Dublin is now greater than at the height of the boom.

There is an increase in public transport use, a reflection of improved economic conditions, while arrivals at Dublin airport are returning to peak levels. Overall, consumer sentiment improved sharply in early 2015 as optimism about economic conditions increased and the outlook for jobs brightened.

The KBC/ESRI Dublin consumer sentiment index, included in the monitor, rose to 148.9 in the first quarter of 2015 from 132.1 in the final quarter last year.

“Dublin consumer sentiment improved quite sharply in early 2015 as optimism about economic conditions increased and the outlook for jobs brightened,” said Austin Hughes, economist at KBC.

“Importantly, there is also a sense now that Dublin consumers are starting to expect that the rising economic tide will deliver some improvement in their personal financial circumstances in the year ahead. The current Dublin consumer sentiment reading hints that the economic upturn in the capital may be more broadly felt in the next 12 months.”