Mayo Jobless figures at 16-year high

Jobless figures at 16-year high


Rowan Gallagher

OVER 1,000 Mayo people have been added to the dole queue since the end of April. In the month of July, 451 people signed on for the first time. The national live register figure is higher now than at any other time since the recession started and is now, nationally, at a 16-year high.
Every district of Social Welfare Offices in Mayo saw an increase, with the exception Belmullet which went down by one person. Ballina saw the largest increase, with 127 more people signing on in just the last month. Almost two thirds of the 13,965 people claiming the dole in Mayo are male, accounting for 8,893 of the total signed on the live register.
At the end of March, the unemployment rate in Mayo seemed to be easing with a fall of over 200 people claiming social welfare, but hopes were soon dashed in the following months with month-on-month increases.
Fine Gael County Councillor Seamus Weir told The Mayo News, “It’s horrific at the moment for people. There is a huge reduction in employment; I can feel it myself. In Ballina and Knockmore the building work for electricians and plumbers is all gone. The government needs to come up with some new policies.”
Cllr Weir also suggested that young people should have the opportunity to do work experience to help companies that are finding it difficult now.
Ballina County Councillor Annie May Reape (FF) believes that the figures are not a fair reflection on the situation in Ballina. “It is unfortunate, but that figure will change as time goes on … The figure always seems to increase this time of year with people leaving college and having trouble finding a job or waiting to go back to further education,” she told The Mayo News.” The councillor also hinted that there would be a significant jobs announcement in the Ballina area in the coming months, but she refused to be drawn on specifics.