The True Unemployment Figure

According to BRENDAN MCGINTY of National Recruitment Federation, “Ireland has record employment levels, with unemployment down to 4.8%, the lowest since January 2007. Just 119,000 workers were classified unemployed in December 2019, meaning Ireland is now essentially at full employment, with employers struggling to fill vacancies.”  however this is not a true reflection of the number of people out of employment.

According to the CSO in 2016, Ireland had over 450,000 home makers. 98% of these were women, (445,00). With the majority in single income families, and not in receipt of a social welfare payment they are excluded from the many supports and services of the unemployed. The definition of unemployment is a “Persons who were without work and available for work within the next two weeks, and had taken specific steps, in the preceding four weeks, to find work.” This excludes a large amount of parents who were forced out of the workforce due to high childcare costs.

McGinty goes on to say “With a labour shortage and greater acceptance of flexible roles and new ways of working, the time has never been better for women returning to the labour market. Ireland’s female labour force participation, particularly women over the age of 35, has remained low. Even with some 80,000 more women at work than in 2014, we are still the fifth-lowest country for the proportion of women at work in the EU.

Now, as Ireland is set for a historic change in political leadership, we need the new Government to act on a range of diverse issues including skills development, flexible work options and affordable childecare.

#stayathomeparents #returningtowork #backtoworkconnect #careerbreak