The monthly unemployment rate has topped 28% when people who lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis are included.
The latest unemployment figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that more than half of workers aged 15 to 24-years-old were out of a job last month.
It is the highest unemployment rate the country has ever recorded.
Grafton Street in Dublin City Centre, 29-04-2020. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNewsCSO statistician Edel Flannery said the COVID-19 crisis is continuing to have a "significant impact" on the Irish labour market.
“If all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) were classified as unemployed, this COVID-19 adjusted measure of unemployment indicates a rate of 30.0% for males and 26.1% for females,” she said.
“Breaking the results down by broad age group, the new COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of Unemployment indicates a rate of 52.8% for those aged 15 to 24-years-old and 24.8% for those aged 25 to 74-years-old.”
COVID-19 supports
Yesterday, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the COVID-19 employment supports would be extended past their original 12-week limit.
He said no decision had been made on how long they would last for or if there would be a rate reduction after next month.
More than one million people are currently getting COVID-19 supports.
In the last week of April, just over 602,000 people were receiving PUP and just over 425,000 people’s wages were being supported by the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS).
Job listings
Meanwhile, employment website Indeed has warned that there is now half the number of jobs available on the site as there was this time last year.
Indeed economist Jack Kennedy said the situation is particularly worrying with no clear end in sight for many sectors.
“With many of the sectors worst affected by the current crisis, such as hospitality and food service, not slated to open until the later stages of the government roadmap, it may be some time before we start to see the green shoots of recovery,” he said.
Grafton Street in Dublin City Centre, 29-04-2020. Image: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNewsHe said the huge numbers of young people now unemployed is particularly shocking.
“Historically, it’s common for those who graduate during a recession to see the effects well into their career, so many graduates this year may need to adjust their entry into working life - whether that be starting their first job on a remote basis or diversifying the types of jobs they look for,” he said.
“It’s also possible that we will see more domestic interest in jobs traditionally held by migrants – which has already happened in the UK, where searches for fruit picking jobs rose significantly.”
Live Register
The CSO is publishing two sets of figures – one with PUP payments included and one without – in order to allow comparison with historical figures without taking the current temporary measures into account.
When people receiving PUP are not included in the figures, unemployment sits at 5.4% - up from 5.3% last month.
By that measure, 12.5% of workers under the age of 25-years-old had lost their jobs.
The unemployment rate for people over 25-years-old is 4.4% when people receiving PUP are not included.
