Live register crashes through the 10% mark

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 354,437 people were on the Live Register last month. This represented an increase of 26,576 from the January figure, which was a record. The Live Register has now risen by 87% over the past 12 months, also a record. The CSO said the unemployment rate rose to 10.4% from 9.6% in January.

Bloxham Stockbrokers' Alan McQuaid says that as with January, the Live Register figures are 'simply horrendous'. He says they underline the fact that the Irish economy is now in severe crisis mode with the labour market heading for meltdown. 'It is essential in our view that the forthcoming mini-Budget includes some measures to stimulate demand in the economy and project jobs. Focusing on just simply stabilising the public finances and not targeting economic growth will not work, and indeed is likely to do more damage than good', the economist says. In a note today, Davy predicts that the unemployment rate will pass the 12% level by October. That would mean a near 8% increase in two years - the rate was only 4.5% in October 2007. The stockbrokers said that the last eurozone country to see an equivalent jump was Finland during the period from 1990 to 1992.

The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment. It includes part-time workers (those who work up to three days a week), seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance. Unemployment is measured by the Quarterly National Household Survey and the latest seasonally adjusted figure, for September to November 2008, is 170,700 persons unemployed.