We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE NUMBER OF people employed in the euro area continued to decrease in the first quarter of this year, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat today.
Employment levels fell 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 and by 0.2 per cent in the 27 European Union member states over all, compared to the last quarter of 2012.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, employment fell by one per cent in the euro area and by 0.4 per cent in the EU27 in the first quarter of the year.
Eurostat estimates that 221.9 million men and woman were employed in the European Union countries in Q1 of 2013.
(Image: Eurostat)
Among those member states for which data was available, Lithuania (2.4 per cent), Estonia (2.3 per cent) and Latvia (1.0 per cent) recorded the highest growth rates compared with the previous quarter, while Greece (-2.3 per cent), Portugal (-2.2 per cent) Spain and Cyprus (both -1.3 per cent) and Italy (-1.2 per cent) registered the largest decreases.
Ireland showed a small increase of 0.4 per cent in the number of people employed in the first quarter.
Today economy and labour ministers from Italy, France Germany and Spain met in Rome to discuss ways to address the mass youth unemployment blighting the lives of millions across Europe.
Some 26.5 million people who were unemployed in the EU in April, 5.6 million of them were under 25 years old, which was 100,000 more than a year earlier.
Today’s meeting is aimed at preparing the ground for the European Councils of 27 and 28 June, at which youth unemployment will one of the key topics on the table, and a special meeting on the theme in Berlin on 3 July.
- Additional reporting from AFP.
In other words, unemployment is rising.
“Today’s meeting is aimed at preparing the ground for the European Councils of 27 and 28 June, at which youth unemployment will one of the key topics on the table, and a special meeting on the theme in Berlin on 3 July.”
Excuse us for not holding our breath.
Stability, jobs and growth. That was your mantra while promoting the ESM, wasn’t it Enda?
See where Ireland is on the graph?
^^ top comment shows that some people on here just like to complain and didn’t even read the article or look at the graph.
Given that we are seemingly tied in to the greater whole that is the EU, the downward trend, if it continues, in the greater part of the union will have a knock-on effect negating any temporary upward trends in the rest of Europe.
^ no point trying to cover yourself now u have already shown your true colours. Just here for a good oul moan suppose we Irish do like to complain a lot.
I’m not moaning. I’m being pragmatic. You have your head in the sand. We are now all connected in Europe. If the greater part takes a nose-dive it will impact on the rest of the union.
Now paul…I suppose the oul irish thing will kick in soon. The one of ya for enda lets vote him in time and again.
its bad enough reading about people moanining but to have to read about people moan about people moaning
get a life Paul
Arent u now moaning about a person moaning about a person moaning?
jazus your not as dumb as you look…good lad, I see you even gave yourself a green thumb for that bit of wisdom…go Paul!!!
infact i even gave you one!
If I wanted green thumbs I would have wrote something about hating the government and how I’m definitely voting Sinn Fein next time around ;-)
so you didnt green thumb yourself?
don’t be telling fibs now
Nope sorry
I think your telling porkies young man
Unemployment in the under 24′s is now 40.5% in Italy.
Spain 52.4%
Greece 54.2%
Portugal 38.7%
Ireland 30.4% not counting those who have gone away.
It’s a pity that we can’t have the sound of a graveyard bell ring out as we read these figures.
I like the way your comment suggests that Ireland is the ONLY country within the EU that people have emigrated from….
But Ireland IS the only country most of thejournal.ie give a cr*p about… (I think it’s the “.ie” that gives that away)
The headline is confusing….it can mean two different things.
actually 4 different things..related to the same thing
How to spin the facts, things are getting worse but we don’t want to scare you
The EU is not working
“Ireland showed a small increase with .4% now employed”. Such typical spin. You can be certain that it’s .4% less on the live register, i.e. scambridge, c.e scheme or emigration.
Don’t be so nieve. It’s always been that way. Every government everywhere massages the numbers. Feck sake, remember reading about the Greek hospital that “employed” a few gardeners even though there was no garden?
I think you’ll find that it’s anything BUT naivety if you actually read my post again!
Ireland 5th largest growth in employment among the EU27.
Vindication of the governments consistent pro-jobs policies :)
If a football team comes 5th place in the bottom division of a league wud u consider it a massive achievement?
You realise that isn’t an adequate comparison by any means don’t you?
Why can’t they give the numbers of unemployed, is Winston Smith writing the EUSSR scripts these times?
Machines can do it all better. Jobs will never be replaced
Marx warned about it all them years ago. When machines catch up with human ability in a capitalist world, its bye bye.
I agree with Niall. CE & JobBridge skew the data. When you finish on either of these schemes and go to sign on again you go through the whole process again which can take 6 weeks. In the mean time the person who has taken your place has signed off. This leaves a period of time when the live register numbers reduce. If you look into the numbers of people in Ireland participating these schemes then a sway of 0.4% in the figures is easily achievable. Before anyone jumps on the obvious, yes the idea of these schemes is that you find work and don’t sign back on again but in reality few are able to find a job.
Better image please. I can’t see sh.. on my mobile app. !!!
have your say