The number of people claiming unemployment benefit has increased by 50 per cent in the last year.
The latest live register figures show that the number signing on in the last month rose by over nine thousand, up four per cent. The total number on the live register now stands at 244,500, up 48 per cent in the last 12 months. 61 per cent of those signing on are male.
Austin Hughes, chief economist at IIB Bank, says that job losses are likely to continue.
I'm afraid it gets worse before it gets better.
The official number of notified redundancies rose by four thousand last month. According to Michael MacDonnell, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in Ireland that action is needed now to address outdated skills in the workforce. When the economy does turn around, new skills will be needed to support it.
Bríd O'Brien, Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed, says that resources need to be provided to address the skills gap and invest in training and education.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Mary Coughlan said said that the economic downturn had inevitably led to job losses. Fás, the state training agency, had refocused its efforts on getting those who had lost their jobs into retraining programmes.
Opposition parties and small businesses have called the situation, a crisis and want immediate government action.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 1 October 2008. The reporter is Will Goodbody.
