Youth unemployment stubbornly high
by Bernard Harbor
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Official Live Register figures published last week showed a continuing fall in the unemployment rate, which now stands at 11.2% compared to 12.7% in August 2013 and over 15% at the 2011 peak. But trade union-backed economists have expressed concern at both a slowdown in employment growth in the first half of 2014 and the stubbornly high rate of youth unemployment.
The Central Statistic Office reported that 15.4% of under 25s were currently on the Live Register. This compares to 16.5% in August 2013 and 17.6% in August 2012.
On Tuesday (9th September) the OECD’s annual education survey said the number of 15 to 29 year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Ireland stood at 21% in 2012, compared to 15% across the entire OECD. However, the organisation, which is made up of 34 of the world’s strongest economies, lauded Ireland’s high level of graduates, which compares well with OECD averages.
Tom Healy, director of the trade union-sponsored Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), said one-in-five people aged between 18 and 24 remained out of work, training or education. He warned that early school leavers were far more likely to be ‘NEETs.’
“Early school leavers not in employment, education or training are extremely vulnerable to poverty, homelessness, poor quality employment and exploitation. This is something no society should tolerate,” he said.
In a separate commentary, NERI’s Daragh McCarthy said there were 24 people for every job vacancy in Ireland – down from 28.5 in the second half of last year.
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