Unemployment figures in Ireland kept down by emigration

New figures published by the Irish government suggest that as many as 40,000 people leave the country every year because the employment prospects are so dire. Analysts claim the high emigration figures were one of the reasons that the unemployment figure in Ireland is not much higher than it already is.

The Central Statistics Office said that although fewer people are working, so far this year the number of people available to work has been reduced by around 30,000. Merrion Capital economist, Alan McQuaid, agreed that the statistics for unemployment were being kept down because so many are moving abroad to find work.

More younger people are also deciding to stay in education for longer. Around a third of those between the ages of 20 and 24 are out of work. For the year ending in June, the number of people being employed in Ireland fell by 33,400. There are currently 1.78 million unemployed.

Most sectors of the economy have seen a rise in unemployment with construction, finance and administration being particularly hard hit. However, according to the Quarterly National Household Survey, 6,300 jobs have been created over the last year in the restaurant and hotel industry.

More jobs were lost in the public sector than in the private sector. Private companies registered a 0.3 per cent decline, whereas there was a 6.3 per cent decline in jobs available in the public sector.