Bertie Ahern
Question:6 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Taoiseach the increase in the total numbers at work since April 1987. [12672/97]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Employment Statistics.
The latest Labour Force Survey results relate to April 1996 when there were 1,285,300 persons at work on the basis of the Principal Economic Status classification. This represents an increase of more than 46,000 between April 1995 and 1996 and an increase of 195,000 in the nine years from 1987 to 1996. Labour Force Survey results for April 1997 will be available in October.
If the Minister of State has the information in his file, will he tell the House the largest number of jobs created in any financial year since 1987?
I will give the Deputy all the details available to me. Between April 1987 and 1996, the number of persons at work increased by 195,000 to 1,285,300. More than half of this increase occurred between 1994 and 1996. In those two years alone, the numbers at work grew by 103,000 with the result that there are now more people at work than ever in the history of the State. In the same nine year period, unemployment fell by 42,000 to 190,000. The internationally comparable unemployment rate was 16.9 per cent in April 1987, and the corresponding figure for 1996 was considerably lower at 11.9 per cent. I will now give the Deputy the figures for the number of people at work during those years: 1987 — 1,090,000; 1988——
Rather than giving me facts to hide the figure he knows I want, will the Minister of State simply confirm to the House that the largest number of jobs created in the past 30 years was in the 1994 financial year, as per the Central Statistics Office? That was the last year Fianna Fáil was in Government. That figure was 57,000 which amounts to 1,100 jobs per week. Will the Minister of State confirm those facts from the data available to him?
I am quoting the figures available to me. The number of people at work in 1993 was 1,148,000, and the figure for 1994 was 1,182,000. In the past two years there has been an increase of 103,000 which, cumulatively, is the largest in the history of the State. This is a phenomenal economic success story. We are all part of that success story——
Tell Minister Enda Kenny about it.
——and we should not disparage ourselves. We should not claim too much credit. This country is on a rising threshold as we face into the next century and the next millennium.
The posters have to be changed now.
I know the people will recognise that when they go to the polls in the next few weeks.
I suggest to the Minister of State that it was a bad investment to print posters saying that 1,000 jobs per week were created when that is a decline on what was achieved by our Administration.
That disposes of questions to the Taoiseach for today.