Strong economic and employment growth has resulted in substantial decline in unemployment and particularly long-term unemployment. Based on the most recent Quarterly National Household Survey, for the first quarter 2001, the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.7%, down from 4.7% one year earlier.
There were 65,600 persons unemployed in the first quarter of 2001, an annual fall of nearly 16,000. Of that total, there are now just over 21,000 persons who are long-term unemployed based on the ILO measure. The fiscal and job-creation policies pursued by the Government in recent years have contributed to an overall reduction of 93,000 in the numbers unemployed since April 1997. Nevertheless there will always be an element of short-term unemployment in the economy. These persons represent a pool of unemployed who remain for short periods in unemployment pending their transition to a job.
For persons who are long-term unemployed, studies indicate that such persons face multiple barriers to taking up work for example a lack of education and skills, misuse of drugs, literacy problems or age barriers.