1 in 4 Irish out of work
Jobless figure soars as young are hardest hit
MORE than one in four people were still out of work for the month of May, figures revealed yesterday.
Despite a slight drop since April due to the easing of restrictions, 26.1% still had no job to go to.
And the younger generation has been hit hardest with more than half of those aged between 15 and 24 receiving a form of social welfare.
The worrying figures from the Central Statistics Office were released yesterday.
Edel Flannery of the CSO said: “The Covid-19 crisis has continued to have a significant impact on the labour market in Ireland in May 2020.”
While the standard monthly measure was 5.6%, the figures come under a new Covid-19 adjusted total which includes anyone claiming the weekly Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350.
The new measure estimates the share of the labour force that were not working due to unemployment or who were out of work due to the pandemic.
Unemployment remains extremely high but yesterday’s figures do represent a small drop compared to April, when it stood at 28.2%, as more people return to work.
On Tuesday it was revealed 36,000 fewer people are claiming the Covid-19 payment as the restrictions are eased.
But there are also 508,100 people currently being paid under the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, with 57,800 employers registered.
Those aged 15 to 24 have been most severely impacted by the crisis with unemployment in that group sitting at 51%, according to the CSO’S adjusted measure.
Meanwhile, the rate for those aged over 25 stands at 22.5%.
This is compared to the standard methodology which shows the monthly rate for those aged 15 to 24 was 13.5%, while it was 4.5% for those from 25 to 74.
Explaining the new approach being used to calculate the figures, Ms Flannery added: “The CSO is producing a supplementary measure of unemployment in parallel with the routine monthly unemployment estimates.
“It should be considered as the upper bound for the true rate of unemployment and the standard monthly rate as the lower bound.