17% increase in numbers signing on in Clare in one month

THE number of people signing on the live register in Clare has increased by 17% in June compared to May.

Statistics for last month show that there were 4,587 people signing on in Clare, compared to 3,899 in May. 

In Ennis there were 2,303 on the live register, up by 289 on May. In Ennistymon there were 923, up from 658 in May. Kilrush saw an increase from 649 to 723, while Tulla went from 578 to 638.

The numbers signing on in Clare were 383 higher than June of last year, but the Pandemic Unemployment was still in existence at that stage.

Clare has received a substantial number of refugees since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and some of these may have been included in the figures.

Commenting on the national figures, Morgan O’Donnell, statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said: “The unadjusted Live Register total for June 2022 was 186,819. When seasonal effects are considered, the seasonally adjusted Live Register total for June 2022 was 184,600, which is an increase of 7,300 persons from May 2022.

“There were 7,147 people benefitting from the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive included in the Live Register figures for June 2022, an increase of 6,941 from May 2022.”

A statement from the Central Statistics Office added, “People arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive can access a wide range of Department of Social Protection (DSP) supports.

“The majority of new applications for income support from people of working age are being processed as Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) claims until the most appropriate income support for that person is identified.

“This facilitates access to existing part-time work supports where appropriate. In the event that a person is on JA for 50 claim paid days or more, they are counted on the Live Register.”