Live register figures for February published by the Central Statistics Office show the numbers of people signing on the register is at its lowest level for sixteen years. According to the figures which were published at noon, there were 207 611 people registered on the dole at the end of February.
This is a reduction of 6,400 compared with the total for January. When seasonal employment patterns are allowed for, the underlying fall in the live register is 4,900.
The good news on the unemployment front continued last month with another sharp fall in the number of people singing on the dole. This brought Ireland's rate of unemployment down to just 6.8 per cent of the labour force. The number total of people registered on the dole now stands at 207,600 the lowest total since 1983. Not all those registered on the dole are either fully unemployed, nor in receipt of dole payments.
Today’s figures show that 70 per cent of the fall in unemployment last month was accounted for by male unemployment. They also show that more than a quarter of the reduction was accounted for by people under the age of 25 signing off the dole. In addition, the figures show that the drop in unemployment in February was nation-wide, with all areas of the country recording reductions. Today's good jobless figures are a reflection of the strong growth in the economy, which is continuing to exceed all expectations in terms of growth.
Earlier this week official figures from the Department of Finance showed tax receipts were running 15 per cent higher than last year, VAT receipts were up 18 per cent, and the taxes being paid by the Corporate sector are running 34 per cent higher than last year. All of these indicators suggest that unemployment will continue to fall for some time to come. Tánaiste Mary Harney has forecast that Irelands rate of unemployment will fall to 5 per cent over the next twelve months.
