Unemployment among Westport youth soars

Unemployment among Westport youth soars


Anton McNulty

THE youth of Westport is suffering from the government’s failure to tackle unemployment. So says local TD, Michael Ring, after viewing the latest Live Register figures. The register shows that the rate of increase in unemployment among young people in Westport is now the second highest in the country.
The new Live Register figures for November show that unemployment in the county rose by 103 to 12,231 – an increase of 0.84 per cent. Of that figure, 2,528 are under 25 years. In the Westport region, unemployment has increased from 63 in 2007 to its present number of 321 – a staggering increase of 409 per cent.
Commenting on the figures, Deputy Ring said: “The latest report highlights the failure of Government Policy in dealing with unemployment …The Government has a responsibility to try and get young people back to work, but they seem to be at a loss for ideas.”
He pointed out that Fine Gael had published a youth jobs plan, entitled ‘Hope for a Lost Generation’, as part of its alternative budget, and he claimed the plan would reduce the number of young people on the Live Register by one-third in under 12 months. He said the plans’ proposals would provide new jobs for more than 30,000 people, mostly under the age of 25.
The 2010 Budget announced by Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan did not make encouraging reading for young people on the dole queue. The rate of Job-Seekers’ Allowance and Supplementary Welfare Allowance for people aged 20 and 21 who have no children will be cut to €100 a week. For those aged 22-24, the rate falls to €150 a week.
The only Mayo areas that did not see an increase in unemployment in November were Castlebar and Swinford. Castlebar fell from 2,213 in October to 2,199 in November while Swinford fell from 1,601 to 1,587. In the last 12 months, unemployment in the county has grown from 8,028 to 12,231, a percentage increase of 34 per cent.