05/06/2009

Unemployment Rate At 'Shocking' 11.8%

Labour have described as "shocking" the latest Live Register figures, which show over 400,000 were claiming benefits last month.

The seasonally adjusted Live Register reflects a total increase from 388,600 in April to

402,100 in May, a rise of 13,500 in those now seeking unemployment benefit or allowances.

It's the first time the numbers on the dole have ever reached this level and translates into an unemployment rate of 11.8%.

Over 105,000 people have been added to the Live Register since the start of the year.

A Labour spokesman has said figures for May "are truly shocking", adding there was absolutely nothing positive about the "disastrous" figures.

The spokesman said: "Those of us who lived through the 1980s hoped that we would never again see such numbers on the Live Register; now we are seeing figures of more than 100,000 greater than anything seen in the worst days of the 1980s.

"These are not just cold statistics. Everyone of the almost 200,000 added to the Live Register represents a human tragedy for the individual who has lost his or her job."

The spokesman for the party said that government policy had to be redirected to stopping the jobs haemorrhage and getting people back to work.

"If the government continues to ignore the unemployment crisis the country will continue to not just suffer economic damage, but also face the prospect of long term unemployment doing untold social damage to communities all over the country," he added.

Earlier this year, the ESRI forecast that unemployment could rise to 17% next year.

(DW/JM)

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