Fine Gael continues to deliver on commitment to jobs, with unemployment rate now down to 7.9% – Brophy

Fine Gael TD for Dublin South-West, Colm Brophy, says Fine Gael is continuing to deliver on its pledge to prioritise job creation and reduce unemployment. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office reveal that the unemployment rate is now down to 7.9%.

“This is very positive news and proof yet again of Fine Gael’s commitment and success in creating the environment to get people back to work.

“The unemployment rate down of 7.9% is the lowest since November 2008 and our unemployment rate is now firmly below European averages. The long term unemployment rate is down from 6% to 4.7% in the year and the new jobs are mostly full time positions.

“155,000 new jobs have been created since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched in early 2012 and the Programme for Government has reaffirmed the Action Plan for Jobs as the best way to implement ideas on job creation across Government. With 15,400 new jobs created in the first three months of 2016 we are off to a great start in meeting Fine Gael’s target of 200,000 new jobs by 2020.

“Each new job which is created is another family looking forward to a brighter future and each new job created by a business is a sign of returning confidence and growth. In fact each new job created leads to more resources which Fine Gael is committed to using to fix the many challenges we face as a society.

“This Partnership Government is determined to maintain the good progress on job creation that was started by the previous Government.

“Fine Gael in Government continues to prioritise job creation because we believe that only a strong economy, supporting people at work, can pay for the services needed to create a fair society. Helping people back into work will lead to greater equality of opportunity, where our people can plan confidently for the future.”