Clare dole queues up by 45% in past year

THE number of people on the dole has increased by 45% in Clare over the past year, with more than 9% of the county’s population now signing on. The number receiving Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance in the county has increased to more than 10,000.

Meanwhile, the mood countrywide, among those employed and those looking for work, remains bleak though more than half of all respondents to a recent Irishjobs.ie survey said they are ‘hopeful’ for the year ahead.
Results from the survey showed that it will be a lean Christmas in 2009 for many workers. Of the respondents who normally get a Christmas bonus, 87% say they won’t be getting one this year.
In the survey, 58% of respondents were working and 42% job-seeking. Of the job-seekers, almost half had been made redundant, 7% said that their employer had gone out of business and a further 12% said they were looking for another role because they felt insecure in their current role. Just 16% were job-seeking for career progression and 20% were seeking a new direction.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents to IrishJobs.ie confirmed that their pay has decreased this year, 29% say it remained the same, while a lucky 9% say their pay actually increased in 2009. Of the respondents whose pay has decreased, 70% said they did not agree to their pay cuts willingly.
However, the survey also revealed that the recession has brought some positives for respondents. Some 38% said they now get to spend more time with their family; 32% say they have developed new interests and a further 30% say the downturn forced them to re-evaluate their life and they told IrishJobs.ie they are happier for it. One respondent told IrishJobs.ie that “our overtime has been reduced so I have more free time now” while another said 2009 has given her “perspective”.
The most recent Central Statistics Office figures reveal that the highest number of people signing on countywide is in the Ennis area while the lowest number is in Kilrush. In Ennis over the past year, the number of people receiving Jobseeker’s  Benefit or Allowance increased by 1,712 from 3,968 in November 2008 to 5,680 last month.
In Ennistymon, the number of people on the Live Register went from 1,132 this time last year to 1,607 in November 2009. In the Kilrush area, the numbers signing on increased from 934 to 1,372 over the past year while in Tulla, the number of people on the dole jumped from 898 to 1,406.
Across the county, the number of people collecting Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance has gone from 6,932 to 10,065 over the course of the past year while in the Mid-West, the number rose from 23,597 to 37,150, with the greatest rise in Limerick City.
In the Gort district, the number of people on the Live Register increased by nearly 50% from 901 people in November 2008 to 1,350 last month.