FOR THE FIRST time in seven years, Ireland’s unemployment rate has fallen to below 10%.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office today show that the unemployment rate is now 9.9%. The last time it dipped below 10% was in January 2009.
There are now 1.9 million people employed in Ireland and 212,000 people who are unemployed.
Unemployment decreased by 45,300 over the past year, while long-term unemployment dropped from 7.3% to 5.9%.
Davy Research said that the 2.2% drop in unemployment over the past year has been the sharpest decline in 33 countries which it has data for, including the US and the UK.
The coalition government has rushed to claim credit for the drop, saying that it is proof that its focus on jobs is working.
“Every job created is a life back on track, a family improved, a community enhanced,” said Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton.
However Minister Bruton also acknowledged that there are parts of the country which have not seen much sign of a recovery.
“There are still many people around the country who are not yet feeling the benefits yet, and there is still a long way to go before we can say we have replaced all the jobs that were lost, before we can attract young emigrants home in large numbers, before we can have jobs available for all the unemployed,” he said.
The figures show there has been a significant rise in the number of people working in the construction sector, which was badly hit by the recession.
There are 19,600 more people working in construction now than there were lat year, a jump of 19.1%, according to Minister for Business and Employment Ged Nash.
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