The number of people unemployed has risen, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In January 2022, the number of people unemployed stood at 7.8 per cent, which was up from 7.4 per cent in December 2021.
Analysing the figures, John Mullane, a CSO statistician mentioned the continuing effect the pandemic is having on employment.
“The Covid-19 crisis has continued to have an impact on the labour market in Ireland in January 2022,” Mr Mullane explained.
“While the seasonally adjusted standard measure of monthly unemployment was 5.3 per cent in January 2022, the Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment could indicate a rate of 7.8 per cent if all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) were classified as unemployed.
“This alternative measure is up from a rate of 7.4 per cent in December 2021 and down from 27.1 per cent in January 2021.
“The alternative Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment estimates the share of the labour force in January 2022 not working due to unemployment or who were out of work due to Covid-19 and receiving the PUP.”
The COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate for January 2022 was 7.8% for all persons including those on the Pandemic Unemployment Paymenthttps://t.co/WPWhtxNcwL #CSOIreland #Ireland #LabourForce #Households #LabourMarket #LiveRegister #Jobs #Employment #Unemployment pic.twitter.com/txDfsdHoxE
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) February 2, 2022
According to Mr Mullane, when comparing the Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment in different months, the impact of Government restrictions on the number of people in receipt of the PUP needs to be considered.
The seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for January 2022 was 5.3 per cent, up from a rate of 5.2 per cent in December 2021 and down from 7.0 per cent in January 2021.
“Breaking the results down by broad age group, the seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 years was 13.0 per cent while it was 4.0 per cent for those aged 25 to 74 years,” Mr Mullane explained.
“If all claimants of the PUP were classified as unemployed, this Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment indicates a rate of 7.8 per cent for all persons, with a rate of 8.2 per cent for males and 7.4 per cent for females.
“Breaking the results down by broad age group, the Covid-19 adjusted measure of unemployment indicates a rate of 14.3 per cent for those aged 15 to 24 years and 6.9 per cent for those aged 25 to 74 years.”
