THE RATE OF unemployment rose slightly in December 2021, increasing from 6.9% to 7.5% due to new restrictions being implemented by the Government early last month.

Latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate for December 2021 was 7.5%.

In November 2021, this rate was 6.9%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points.

The slight increase came as the Government introduced new restrictions in December on opening hours for pubs, restaurants and entertainment settings like cinemas and theatres, as well as cutting the number of people who could attend indoor events.

“The COVID-19 crisis has continued to have an impact on the labour market in Ireland in December 2021,” said CSO Statistician John Mullane.

“The alternative COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment estimates the share of the labour force in December 2021 not working due to unemployment or who were out of work due to COVID-19 and receiving the PUP.

“When comparing the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment in different months, users should consider the impact of Government restrictions on the number of people in receipt of the PUP.”

Mullane says that if all PUP claimants were classified as unemployed, the Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment would show that 7.9% of males are unemployed while 7.1% of females are unemployed.

This amounts to 107,278 males and 86,054 females unemployed. This leads to a total of 193,332 people unemployed as of December 2021, adjusted due to Covid-19.

This week, the Department of Social Protection reported that 75,600 people received the PUP this week, with total payments valued at €19.3 million.