Covid-adjusted unemployment rate rises to 45% for under 25s
8% The Was September Is Last 19 Figure 45 Unemployment Slightly 3% The 24 Adjusted From Was Bracket Age This Month, Rate Up Among 33 When The 15 Covid Monthly
One in every five people is now out of work, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Offices (CSO).
The Covid-19 adjusted monthly unemployment rate rose to 20.2% last month, an increase of 4.3% on September’s figures.
The rise is likely connected to the country’s move to stricter Covid-19 restrictions with the number of those receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) making up a large percentage of those currently unemployed in the state.
Excluding PUP recipients, the unemployment rate in October stands at 7.3%. The same figure was recorded in September when PUP recipients were excluded.
Younger workers continue to be adversary affected by the crisis. Last month, the Covid-19 adjusted monthly unemployment rate was 45.3% among the 15-24 age bracket. This is up slightly from September when the figure was 33.8%.
Commenting on today’s publication, Catalina Gonzalez, CSO Statistician said “caution needs to be exercised” when interpreting the figures for those aged under 25 years.
“If the PUP scheme did not exist, those persons, being in full-time education, would not be eligible to receive Unemployment Assistance or Unemployment Benefit and so would not be included in the methodology to estimate the traditional measure of monthly unemployment,” she explained.
At least 8.1% of PUP recipients have self-certified themselves as being registered as a full-time student.
Andrew Webb, Chief Economist at Grant Thornton Ireland said today’s figures paint "a grim picture" of the labour market.
"While not unexpected, given the lengthening impact of the pandemic, the fact that one in five people in the labour market are not working is a grave situation," he said.
"From a recovery perspective, the fact that the underlying ‘standard’ rate of unemployment is now 66,300 higher than one year ago shows there is evidence of longer term damage being inflicted on parts of the labour market," he added.
Jack Kennedy, economist at job site Indeed said the figures show already vulnerable labour force groups are more exposed to job losses.
Alongside the startling youth unemployment rate, Mr Kennedy said we are also seeing a disparity between regions with many in western counties at higher risk due to the larger proportion of smaller businesses and consumer facing roles.
"We know from previous recessions that vulnerable workers face greater danger, both to being laid-off and to being pushed even further toward the back of hiring queues, when competition is fierce for limited job vacancies."
"The challenge for our long term economic health is ensuring those who lose their jobs don’t fall into long term unemployment."
"This has been mitigated so far by maintaining that crucial connection between employee and employer, through supports such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme," he said. "This connection can save a myriad of issues down the line when trying to reintegrate people into the workforce."