The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose slightly to a seasonally adjusted 139,500 in April from 137,800 the previous month, the Central Statistics Office said today.
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The standardised unemployment rate in March was 3.6 per cent, unchanged from the previous two months.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Noel Ahern attributed the increase to temporary lay offs during the Easter holidays and to similar job losses because of the Foot-and-Mouth crisis. He said taking these factors into consideration, it is still the lowest Live Register for April since 1981 when the figure was 125,400.
"The latest figures reflect job losses because of the Foot and Mouth crisis, as well as seasonal increases in the Live Register normally experienced at Easter time. My Department received almost 1,000 unemployment claims as a result of the foot and mouth crisis up to the end of April. I am confident that, with the restrictions now lifted, people who have lost their jobs or who rely on seasonal employment, will be back at work very soon", said Mr Ahern.
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU)has expressed concern over the largest increase in the unemployment figures since April 1996.
"Unfortunately, we are not surprised by these figures" said Mr Tony Monks, INOU General Secretary. "At least 1,000 people are currently signing on due to Foot and Mouth Disease lay-offs. We have also seen widespread job losses in a broad range of sectors since the start of the year."
In unadjusted terms the register of unemployed rose by 676 to 136,561 in April, the CSO said. The seasonally-adjusted figure remains close to 19-year lows.
The slowdown in the US economy has also sparked fears that unemployment may begin to rise next year.
"For a number of years the threat of unemployment was a distant memory for many workers, now that threat is a very worrying reality," said Mr Monks.
However, Ireland's unprecedented economic boom over the last six years has created work for thousands and labour shortages still represent one of the biggest barriers to further growth.
The government has estimated it needs to import some 200,000 workers in the next five years to fill vacancies across a range of industries.