Slight decrease in unemployment rate is evidence of emigration and not job creation

» Mark Moloney

“Fine Gael and Labour have nothing to celebrate. This is not evidence of green shoots but the continuation of the exodus of our children across the globe. It doesn't take a genius to see through the spin.” – Dessie Ellis

A slight fall in the number of people signing onto the Live Register does not indicate that the unemployment rate is falling and instead highlights the continued emigration of young people, says Sinn Féin.

The Central Statistics Office has released figures showing that the unemployment rate fell from 14.4% in February 2012 to 14.3% the following month. On a seasonally adjusted basis this indicates a drop of 3,000 people on the register bringing the total number of those out of work to 434,800. However the figures showed a 10,235 (10.7%) increase in the number of long-term claimants with 184,465 people on the register for more than a year.

The number of those aged under 25 claiming benefits has continued to fall since 2010 with emigration being widely blamed.

Sinn Féin TD and spokesperson for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Peadar Tóibín has said that it is clear that emigration continues unabated in Ireland with thousands of people voting with their feet and leaving in search of work.

“It is clear that a significant portion of those under 25 years of age and those from the Craft and Related sectors saw no future for themselves in this country and left seeking work abroad.” he said

“The rise of 10.7% in the number of long term unemployed shows that the government’s strategy is failing and the jobs bridge programme is completely inadequate to deal with the scale of the unemployment problem”

Speaking to An Phoblacht Sinn Féin TD for Dublin North-West, Dessie Ellis, said that “Fine Gael and Labour have nothing to celebrate. This is not evidence of green shoots but the continuation of the exodus of our children across the globe. It doesn't take a genius to see through the spin.”