4th February 2015
4th February 2015
Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash TD, has welcomed the latest figures on the Live Register published today (Wednesday). The Central Statistics Office figures show that the unemployment rate fell once again in January to 10.5%. This is down almost two thirds since the crisis peak of 15.1% three years ago.
There are now 358,672 people on the Live Register. This represents a 10% year-on-year decrease.
Minister Nash said, “Today’s figures show that more than 140,000 people left the Live Register to take up work during 2014. All of the eight regions of the country have experienced a fall in unemployment over the past 12 months. This shows that the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work is working.”
“We know that a job is the best way of assisting a person and their family to lift themselves out of poverty and the latest CSO figures show that people are leaving the Live Register on a monthly basis in their thousands.”
The number of long term claimants on the Live Register last month stood at 164,844. This represents a decrease of 9.1% in the number of long term claimants signing on in January.
Minister Nash welcomed this drop in long-term unemployment, “The figures relating to the long-term unemployed are particularly encouraging among men, which have seen significant drops over the past year. However, long-term unemployment remains too high.”
“On that front, I welcome the Tánaiste’s ten measures to reduce unemployment to below 10% announced today. Joan Burton’s aim of targeting young people and jobseekers with children is of particular significance.”
“As part of my dignity of work agenda, I want to ensure that the jobs we are helping to create and sustain are decent jobs with decent pay. I will be progressing this agenda with the establishment of the Low Pay Commission shortly.”
ENDS
For more information contact:
Press Office, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: press.office@djei.ie or Ph: 01-631 2200
Deirdre Grant, Press Advisor to Minister Nash – M: 086-048 4279
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