Ireland Unemployment Rate Is Now 5.3% - Down From 6.4% This Time Last Year

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, T.D., today welcomed the latest monthly unemployment figures, which were announced today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The monthly unemployment rate has dropped consistently over the past year and has now fallen to 5.3%, as of November 2018. This is down from 6.4% in November 2017.

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 127,600 in November 2018 - a decrease of 23,700 when compared to November 2017. This is the lowest figure since February 2008.

ABC Comment:

The following are some examples of the assistance and support provided by the Department to jobseekers and employers:

The Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS)

Minister Doherty launched the Department’s new YESS scheme on 24 September 2018. YESS is a new work experience scheme targeted exclusively at young jobseekers, aged 18 to 24, who are either long-term unemployed or face significant barriers to employment.

JobsIreland.ie

JobsIreland.ie is the Department’s national recruitment website. The service is administered by Department staff and provides a free online vacancy advertising and candidate matching service for employers who wish to advertise job vacancies, apprenticeships and community employment (CE) schemes. YESS vacancies can now also be advertised on JobsIreland.ie. The service is available to all employers irrespective of size or industry sector.  To date in 2018, 77,441 positions have been advertised. For candidates, JobsIreland.ie provides the opportunity to register and search for all the latest jobs in the market place. JobsIreland.ie lets candidates create an online CV and then notifies them automatically of vacancies that match their profile.

JobsPlus

JobsPlus, which was introduced in July 2013, provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who offer full-time employment opportunities to long-term unemployed people.  The scheme was further enhanced from 1 January 2018 to support workers aged 50 or over.  Almost 16,700 payments have been made through the scheme in 2017 and 2018 (to November).

Jobs Fairs

Additionally, the Department hosts numerous Jobs Fairs and events throughout the year, with our annual Jobs Week a particular focus. For Jobs Week 2017, the Department organised and hosted 100 events in every region, which brought 400 employers and 16,000 jobseekers together. Jobs Week 2018 saw 134 events, with 450 employers and 14,500 jobseekers attending. The Department also co-hosts a number of events with EURES, the European Recruitment Service – from the start of 2017 to date in 2018, there have been three on-site and  five online EURES Jobs Fairs.  The Department will continue to focus on working with employers throughout the country to ensure that jobseekers can avail of the many jobs that are being created every week by employers.

Community Employment and TÚS schemes

In addition the Department continues to provide valuable work experience for those who are long-term unemployed through the community employment and TUS schemes. These schemes also provide important local services in towns and villages throughout the country.  At present there are approximately 28,000 participants on these schemes who are benefitting from work experience and training.

ABC Comment, Have your say below: