Central Bank highlights Covid’s impact on Clare economy

CLARE is among the counties hardest hit by the economic fall-out of the pandemic, a new report from the Central Bank and the Western Development has found.

This county, along with eight others along the western seaboard, comprise what is called the Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC). The research highlights the reliance in this county on very small businesses in sectors like tourism and cautions that this could affect economic recovery into the longer term. It also finds there are fewer job opportunities arising in Clare for those whose employment has ended due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The report entitled, ‘The Regional impact of COVID-19: Western Region & Atlantic Economic Corridor,’ underlines the crucial role played by policies such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in supporting household incomes and firms this county.

“A concentration of jobs in consumer-facing sectors such as tourism and accommodation mean that workers in these counties have been adversely affected by public health restrictions,” the report’s authors said. “Younger and female workers are particularly vulnerable to employment shocks. Analysis of job postings point to very slack labour market conditions, with some counties particularly weak.”

The relative high percentage of Clare staff working in very small enterprises – i.e. those with less than ten employees – is cited as a key factor exposing this county to the negative impact of the pandemic. The research shows that 34% of Clare employees work in very small enterprises, twice the rate of employees in Dublin (at 15.8%), putting the county at greater risk in terms of the impact of Covid-19.

The report also found that Clare, and fellow AEC counties, have a lower number of people working in sectors which enable remote working. A concentration of employment in areas including tourism, agriculture, traditional sectors, and public services is highlighted, as well as “a much lower share of employment in knowledge intensive services sectors that are more conducive to remote working”.

The research noted the exposure to post-Brexit shocks for counties, like Clare, which are highly dependent on sectors like agriculture and forestry.

In terms of reliance on wage supports, the Central Bank noted that Clare is one of four counties where wage subsidy supports actually increased following the reopening of the economy after the spring lockdown. However, the percentage of the workforce in this county, depending on wage supports dropped at the end of August, to around 17%. Around 10% of the Clare workforce currently rely on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), down from 25% at the end of April.

Rising unemployment and fewer job openings in Clare have also been identified in the report. An analysis of the number of unemployed persons per job posting shows that there were 22 unemployed persons, nationally, per job posting in September. In Clare, that number was greater than 30.

In their conclusion, the report’s authors caution that structural issues affecting the labour market in counties along the western seaboard will hinder recovery in the wake of the pandemic.