Employment Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 September 2018

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

Ceisteanna (60)

Mick Wallace

Ceist:

60. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the decline in the unemployment rate in the south-east region between the first quarter in 2017 and the first quarter in 2018; the amount of the reduction that can be attributed to job creation; the amount of the reduction that can be accounted for by persons leaving the region’s labour force through migration or retirement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38847/18]

Freagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)

Deputy Mick Wallace

The unemployment rate in the south east between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 fell from 7.7% to 7.2%. I would like to know how much of that reduction is down to job creation and how much is down to individuals leaving the region's labour force through factors such as migration or retirement. Does the Minister know if the number of people who are working in the region increased or decreased in that period and, if so, by how much?

Deputy Regina Doherty

I love it when I can answer a question exactly the way the Deputy wants me to answer it.

At its peak the unemployment rate for the south-east region was estimated at about 19%. The most recent official data from the labour force survey show that at the end of the second quarter of 2018 to the beginning of August, the Deputy is correct, that unemployment in the area is now at about 7.2%. As compared with the same period last year employment in the south-east region had risen by 6,100. The labour force in the region had increased even faster, by 8,400, so that unemployment rose by about 2,400 over the year, with the unemployment rate rising from 6.4% to 7.2%.

The figures for a single quarter at the regional level can be volatile and the labour force survey is a sample survey and therefore subject to sampling error. Over the longer period since the recovery began in mid 2012, employment in the south east is up by almost 33,000, with the labour force increasing by 15,000 and unemployment decreasing by 18,000.

Migration estimates are published at State level only, so it is not possible to identify the impact of migration on regional labour force and unemployment levels specifically in the Deputy's county. The data quoted indicate that the reduction in unemployment is not attributable to a reduction in the labour force.

The Government's primary strategy to tackle unemployment since 2012 is twofold. First, we have the Action Plan for Jobs, which is led by my colleague the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and we also have regional action plans that are yielding results through working with IDA Ireland and the local enterprise boards. Second, we have Pathways to Work and my Department ensures that as many new jobs and vacancies as possible are filled by people from the live register. We have a tremendous relationship, which is growing, particularly because employers cannot find people when they have their stands at jobs fairs or through recruitment agencies. Our relationships are growing and there are more piloted and targeted projects being worked on and developed, not least of which is Project Yes being launched this week. Things are getting better. The employment numbers are not matching the rates for people in employment. The rates for people in employment are higher in most of the regions around the county than the drop in numbers on the unemployment register.

Deputy Mick Wallace

I thank the Minister. There are always issues about figures in here, such as those we heard about housing in the last while. Is the Minister aware of the South East Economic Monitor? I do not know if the Minister reads it but the latest edition was published a couple of months ago. This publication provides an analysis of the regional economy carried out by independent non-politically affiliated academics. It is independent of the Minister's Department interpretation and independent of my interpretation of what might be happening in Wexford or the south east. One of the points made by the monitor is that between the first quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018 the number of people in work increased by 62,000 nationally, but in the south east the monitor maintains that the number actually decreased. There were 2,400 fewer people working in the south east in that period, and therefore the so-called reduction in unemployment is accounted for primarily by individuals leaving the region's labour force. If that is true it is pretty worrying. I do not know if the Minister is familiar with those statistics but I am interested to hear what she has to say about them.

Deputy Regina Doherty

I am not but I will make myself familiar with those statistics later on and I will come back to the Deputy to either refute them or, if they can be substantiated, say that we have more work to do. My figures show that the amount of people taken off the live register is less than the amount of new people employed in the county. This means that people who were not on the live register actively seeking jobs decided to take up the jobs that were being created or that people are moving to Wexford to take up the jobs. Either way I will come back to the Deputy later this afternoon with clarification on the report he has just cited.

Deputy Mick Wallace

While the south east makes up 9% of the population of the State, only 3% of IDA Ireland jobs that were created over the last seven years have been in the south-east region. Only 2.2% of the Ireland 2040 capital investment in higher education is due to be spent in the south east. I am aware that Wexford is different again; the live register figure for Wexford in July was 15.5%. Wexford is by far the worse off of those counties in the south-east region. I honestly believe that the statistics bear out the fact that we are one of the top three most deprived counties in the State currently. There is a real need for cross party co-operation to address this. There is a need for some really proactive work across the Departments to change that. Wexford has been a deprived county for a long time and this is directly linked to the fact that we have the highest suicide rate in the State for the last three years. The Minister will be aware that mental health challenges and deprivation are very strongly linked. Might there be an appetite for cross-party co-operation to look at the realities of the situation in Wexford? It did not start with this Government: umpteen Governments have failed to do this. It would be a powerful exercise on the part of the Minister's Government if it were to do this.

Deputy Regina Doherty

The Deputy can correct me if I am wrong but I would have thought that the southern region Action Plan for Jobs and the task force around that could be the body or mechanism to feed into. If not then maybe we will have to look at it and I will come back to the Deputy on it. I can only take responsibility for my Department. There are tremendous amounts of supports available in Wexford and in recognising it is lagging a little bit behind the rest of the country. There are 40 case activation officers looking at the people in the region on the live register. There are a number of training initiatives that have been developed with the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board with a wide variety of courses to go to. The Turas Nua offices there are helping people to find the real jobs that are being created. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation may need to focus in specifically on that area and come back to the Deputy. If there are blackspots or real deficits then perhaps we can sit down together and work on something in the future. I would be happy to do that.