Arthur Morgan
Ceist:37 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the new initiatives the Government has planned to tackle the growing rates of unemployment. [23563/08]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 19 June 2008
Ceisteanna (48, 49)
Arthur Morgan
Ceist:72 Deputy Arthur Morgan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his views on the latest figures on unemployment which show a marked increase in the past year. [23562/08]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 37 and 72 together.
Unemployment is measured by the Quarterly National Household Survey, collated and published by the CSO. The latest release on 5th June for Quarter 1 2008 (Dec-Feb 2008) shows that there are now 102,100 people unemployed, an increase of 8,700 in the year. The current rate of unemployment is 4.6%.
Employment has grown by 2.6% or 53,800 in the year to the first quarter of 2008 and, despite the slowdown in the economy, it is forecast to continue to grow this year by 24,000. The latest Live Register release on 10th June, relating to the month of May, recorded 201,756 are signing on. The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment as it includes part-time, seasonal and casual workers entitled to unemployment benefit.
The increase in the live register is not unexpected following on particularly from the slowdown in the construction industry. This increase must be seen in the context of the substantial increase in employment by 224,300 in the three-year period since 2005. The number of people currently in employment is 2,135,100. It is generally accepted that the strong rate of growth experienced over the past few years could not continue and the economy is now entering a period of adjustment.
The most recent FÁS/ESRI Employment and Vacancies Survey for April 2008 shows that the percentage of firms reporting vacancies across all sectors is 7%, indicating that there is not a collapse in employment opportunities. After 3 months on the live register those who are still unemployed are referred by Department of Social and Family Affairs to FÁS to assist them into training or employment.
FÁS is working through its own Employment Service and with the Local Employment Service provided by Area Based Partnerships to provide increased interviewing and caseload management capacity to respond to the increased numbers on the Live Register. The range of integrated support services provided by FÁS also involves information sessions, skills analysis, training/retraining courses and job placement. These services will be available for those who become redundant because of company restructuring or closures.
Specifically, FÁS is implementing a range of short and medium term actions for those affected by the increase in unemployment and the construction slowdown such as:
putting in place training to upskill construction workers in relation to emerging needs;
business training and mentoring for workers from larger enterprises entering self-employment;
developing measures to ensure continuity in the apprenticeship system;
promoting access for mobile workers to construction jobs elsewhere in the EU, including the UK.
FÁS is also working on increasing its market share of vacancies in the employment market through a range of marketing efforts. As a result, vacancies notified to FÁS in 2007 increased by 12%. In the delivery of these services, FÁS liaises with other relevant agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, the City/County Enterprise Boards and the Department of Social and Family Affairs.