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Unemployment Levels

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 April 2013

Wednesday, 24 April 2013

Questions (9, 54)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

9. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on addressing the problem of under-employment across the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18954/13]

View answer

Dara Calleary

Question:

54. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the way the Action Plan on Jobs 2013 will tackle the problem of underemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18649/13]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 54 together.

Underemployment is defined by the Central Statistics Office as a situation where people are working part-time, are willing to work additional hours and are actually available to work those additional hours. The number of people classified as underemployed rose significantly during the crisis, from 81,000 at the end of 2008 to 146,000 at the end of 2011 and remained unchanged through to the end of 2012. This type of increase is typically observed at the start of all downturns and is evidence that some employers put workers on part-time employment as part of an adjustment strategy to cope with the reality of recession. The most recent data indicate that almost one third of all part-time workers are underemployed.

Some people classified by CSO as underemployed receive income support from my Department to supplement their earnings in employment. The number of such casual and part-time workers included in the Live Register, for example, rose from about 20,000 in early 2008 to almost 90,000 at the end of last month. In addition, other persons classified as underemployed may be receiving payments from my Department under the Systematic Short-time Working Scheme, under schemes such as Community Employment and Tús that provide part-time temporary employment, and under other working-age schemes such as the One Parent Family Payment scheme.

A key factor driving this rise in underemployment is the weak labour demand in the domestic economy. The approach to reducing underemployment is the same as that for reducing unemployment. The Government's primary strategy to tackle both unemployment and underemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity through the Action Plan for Jobs. Through the Pathways to Work strategy, we are trying to ensure that persons on the Live Register are in a position to take up full-time job opportunities as they arise. This is being done through a range of activation measures to provide support and assistance to jobseekers combined with a renewed focus on building relations with employers in order to encourage recruitment of people from the Live Register.

Measures of particular relevance to counteracting underemployment are those that incentivise employers to give full-time jobs to persons who are currently on the Live Register (including the underemployed), most notably the Employers PRSI Incentive and the Revenue Job Assist Scheme. These will be replaced in July of this year by JobsPlus, a single simplified programme.

The Part-Time Job Incentive (PTJI) Scheme is intended as a stepping stone to full-time work partly in recognition of the reality of underemployment. It allows certain long-term unemployed people to take up part-time work and get a special weekly allowance instead of their jobseeker's payment. The Department also supports jobseekers to transition to full-time employment through the Family Income Support Scheme.

Finally, as I mentioned earlier, the Department provides income support to the underemployed to supplement their earned income, via Jobseeker’s Benefit/Jobseeker’s Allowance, provided a person is working no more than 3 days a week. Jobseekers payments paid in conjunction with such periods of casual employment may now count towards satisfying the qualifying period for access to the JobBridge Internship programme. Underemployed casual workers are also entitled to access a range of part-time training and education opportunities for unemployed people.

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