Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 July 2019
637. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the types of employment commenced through JobPath; the number of job starts that are part-time and full-time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27676/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe primary purpose of JobPath is to provide a case management based employment advice and counseling service to long-term unemployed jobseekers. This is the group of jobseekers facing the most significant barriers to secure and sustain full-time employment.
Between July 2015 and May 2019, some 227,590 jobseekers had commenced their engagement period with the JobPath service. Of this number, 52% were unemployed for over three years. These groups face significant barriers when seeking to enter or return to employment in the open labour market.
To date, some 51,818 jobseekers have commenced employment during their engagement period with JobPath. Of this number, 46,155 had commenced full-time employment and 5,663 had commenced part-time employment. Many clients who are currently engaged with JobPath are still in the first phase of the service and have not had sufficient time with the service to have gained employment. Performance will improve as more clients complete their engagement with the service.
My Department does not maintain statistics on the specific types of employment commenced through JobPath. However the recent econometric review of JobPath noted that the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment with the JobPath service are 17% higher than the weekly employment earnings of people who secured employment without the support of JobPath in 2018. Taken with the 26% improvement in employment outcomes in the same period, it means the overall positive employment/earnings impact is 37% in 2018 for those who are supported by the JobPath service. These findings indicate that jobseekers who engage with JobPath are more likely to get a positive employment outcome than those jobseekers who aren't supported by the service.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
