Rise in numbers signing on

THE number of people signing on in Clare increased slightly in the first month of the year.

In January, the numbers signing on crossed the 10,000 milestone for the first time since August. Last month saw a total of 10,083 on the Live Register in Clare, up from 9,965 in December; 1,545 of those were under 25 with 8,543 above 25. There were 6,093 males and 3,990 females.

More than half of those on the Live Register were signing on in Ennis, with the figure at 5,587. The three other social welfare offices were Ennistymon 1,630; Kilrush 1,413 and Tulla 1,453.

The overall figure of 10,083 is 372 lower than the equivalent figure for January 2012.

Sinn Féin’s Anne Hayes said the figures are an indictment of the Government’s efforts on job creation and said the reality is somewhat masked by emigration. “These figures show that Government policies are failing. They claim job creation is their number one priority, I’d hate to see what would happen if it wasn’t. Enda Kenny says they have delivered on their job strategy yet the numbers on the dole continue to rise. Our young people have been emigrating in droves but the level of youth unemployment remains unacceptably high.”

She didn’t accept that the increase was relatively small. “If 118 jobs had been created the Government would be singing their own praises in the media. In reality, it’s 118 more lives blighted and more families struggling to get by.

“My party published an investment plan to create 156,000 jobs. It would also retain many more and the knock-on effects would produce others.

“We need a Government that will stop cutting public spending. We need proper investment in job creation, training and education. We need to invest and work our way out of the recession.”