Unemployment Hits New Low

The Central Statistics Office has said the monthly unemployment rate for May 2019 was 4.4%, the lowest recorded rate since 2005.

The figure is down from 4.6% in April 2019 and 5.9% in May 2018, with the number of people declared as unemployed now standing at 108,200.

Fine Gael Clare TD Joe Carey welcomed the reduced rate as positive news. It comes after the Labour Force Survey showed a 3.6% increase in the amount of people in work in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the previous year, with 221,100 new jobs created since 2016.

Deputy Carey said: "At a time of strong economic growth and almost full employment, it would be easy to become complacent- something that happened during the boom years. Fine Gael is determined to make sure that this doesn't happen again however. That is why we are preparing now for tomorrow's world.

"Future Jobs Ireland 2019 is the first in a series of annual reports as part of this new medium-term framework. The commitments in the report will support continued employment growth across Ireland and further reductions in unemployment. Among other issues, it addresses challenges to participation in the labour force. Actions include developing and implementing tailored activation and training supports and generating attractive employment opportunities such as smart working arrangements.

"We are also delivering 'Project Ireland 2040' which will ensure sustainable growth over the next 20 years for all parts of Ireland.

"It combines our plan for how Ireland will grow over the next 20 years and is backed up by a €116 billion 10 year capital plan. This will mean that for the first time in Ireland's history we will ensure that our planning and capital investment plans are meaningfully aligned; the money follows the plan.

"It will ensure that there is a more effective balance of growth across our country, with the intention that all the regions grow at broadly comparable rates," Deputy Carey concluded.