Unemployment unchanged at 5.1% in July

Unemployment was unchanged in July, holding steady at 5.1 per cent, as figures show that youth unemployment is continuing to decline.

According to figures published by the Central Statistics Office on Tuesday, unemployment stood at 5.1 per cent in July, unchanged from June but down from 6.8 per cent in July 2017. The seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed was 120,500 in July 2018, down from 120,700 when compared with the June figure and a decrease of 38,200 when compared with July 2017.

For males, unemployment fell from 5.1 per cent in June to 5 per cent, while the figure for females stood at 5.2 per cent in July, unchanged from June but down from 6.4 per cent in July 2017.

The seasonally-adjusted number of males unemployed in July was 64,000, down from 65,100 in June. In July the seasonally adjusted number of females unemployed was 56,500, an increase of 900 compared with June.

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Youth unemployment

Youth unemployment continues to fall, with the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for persons aged 15-24 11.7 per cent in July, down from 11.5 per cent in June.

Despite the low rate for July, however, Tara Sinclair, economist and senior fellow at Indeed, said it was important not to forget that improvements in the job market are benefiting some areas of the country more than others. Pointing to the most recent labour force survey, Ms Sinclair said that while Dublin and the midwest have the lowest unemployment rates, the southwest, southeast and midlands areas have the highest rates at 6.2 per cent, 7.2 per cent, and 8 per cent respectively.

“Long-term unemployment, despite impressive reductions, continues to be an issue, with over 50,000 people out of work for over 12 months. This is over one third of the total numbers of unemployed and suggests that retraining and support mechanisms to help this cohort re-enter the labour market should continue to be a focus,” she added.