The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed has condemned the Department of Finance for using a definition of unemployment which, it says, understates the scale of the problem.
The INOU said that the "Economic Review and Outlook for 1997", published by the Department on Wednesday, used the International Labour Organisation's definition of unemployment, which counts only those who are actively looking for work. However, the INOU said that the live register, which stood at 254,863 at the end of June, was a more effective measure.