Press release
Further significant drop in joblessness as unemployment falls to 6.2% - Varadkar
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has welcomed another significant drop in the number of people unemployed, which fell by 4,800 people in a single month, and by 47,300 in a year.
The overall unemployment rate for last month fell to 6.2%, down from 6.4% in March, and a drop of 2.2% percentage points in 12 months from the level of 8.4% in April 2016.
“This is a strong result for April and shows that people are returning to work in significant numbers. Large numbers of people are making solid preparations to return to work through re-training or upskilling and are re-entering the workforce. If this trend continues, it’s very likely that the unemployment rate will be well below 6% before the end of the year thus achieving our target to reduce unemployment to between 5-6% by the end of the decade. I am considering more ambitious targets with my Government colleagues,” Minister Varadkar said.
“We must maintain a relentless focus on driving down unemployment. For this reason, the Government will publish a strategy for Jobless Households in the next few weeks, and work continues on a Working Family Payment to support families into the workplace. A review of the effectiveness of the JobsPlus scheme will also be published in the near future.”
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April 2017 was 6.2%, down from 6.4% in March 2017 and down from 8.4% in April 2016. The seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed was 135,800 in April 2017, down from 140,600 when compared to the March 2017 figure and a decrease of 47,300 when compared to April 2016.
Other measures being pursued by the Department include:
using initiatives like JobsWeek to match jobseekers with employers
Ends