Young people continue to bear the burden of pandemic unemployment; one in four people out of work in January due to lockdown
DUBLIN: Pandemic unemployment rate remains high in Ireland with the re-entry of Level 5 lockdown last month. Figures based on the Live Register and COVID-19 related claims show that young people continue to bear the burden of pandemic unemployment. The unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 is currently 56.4%.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that one in four people was out of work in January when lockdown returned.
Figures also show that the COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate, including the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), increased to 25% in January. In December, it was 19.4%.
At the same time, the CSO stated that 8% of PUP recipients attend full-time education during the current academic year. CSO statistician Catalina Gonzalez said that: “If the PUP scheme did not exist, those persons, being in full-time education, would not be eligible to receive Unemployment Assistance or Unemployment Benefit.”
The main unemployment rate was unchanged from December at 5.8% this January. 5.1% increase from January 2020. Jack Kennedy, an economist at global job site, noted that the figures indicate that the return to the national lockdown has “applied the brakes to the economy once more.”
“With the country facing several more months under tight restrictions, the rapid roll-out of the vaccination programme is now vital, both for public health and for the health of the economy,” Mr. Kennedy added.
Mr. Kennedy also said it would be interesting to see how many of the changes made by Pandemic remain here.
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