WASHINGTON: The latest CSO jobs figures indicate unemployment has fallen significantly over the past year. The figures from the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey, which specifically measures unemployment, shows that year-on-year the unemployment rate in the West has fallen by over one quarter from 10.6 per cent at the end of 2015 to 7.9 per cent at the end of 2016. This means there are 4,700 fewer persons unemployed in the West, which is categorised by the CSO as Galway, Mayo and Roscommon.
Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources and Fine Gael TD for Galway West and Mayo South Sean Kyne commented, “Unemployment is now at its lowest in Galway and the West since 2008 as the measures of the Actions Plan for Jobs and the Action Plan for the West continue to promote job creation and support local businesses and employers. “At its most severe, when the country was in the grip of a recession in 2011, unemployment in the West hit 17 per cent with 36,700. Today’s CSO figures show that the unemployment rate has plummeted by over 53 per cent to 7.9 per cent with over 20,600 fewer persons unemployed in the West.”
Minister Kyne added that the fall in unemployment cannot be taken for granted. “A growing economy with more jobs means more resources for us to tackle the challenges facing us. With issues such as Brexit and the new US Administration policies it is vital that we continue our focus on supporting job creation, and in turn supporting communities, across the West.”
