Unemployment now at 10.7% – Corcoran Kennedy

Fine Gael TD for Laois/Offaly and Chair of the Oireachtas Jobs Committee, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, has said that the publication of the latest unemployment figure showing the rate has dropped from 15.1% in 2012 to 10.7% today shows that the economy is recovering and that the Government’s plan to create jobs is working.

“The latest CSO Live Register figures show that the unemployment rate has dropped to 10.7% from a high of 15.1% in 2012. Too many people are still out of work, but with the rate falling for 36 consecutive months, we are moving in the right direction.

“ In the past month alone, the number on the Live Register has decreased by 4,100 . The number of people signing on the Live Register is now 10% lower than this time last year and stands at 352,647. Almost 80,000 jobs have been created since the launch of the Action Plan for Jobs and the recovery is now broadening across the country.

“Thanks to the sacrifices people have made to get this country to a better place, it is now possible for the Government to cut taxes to help people in work. Every household with somebody in full-time work will be a bit better off from January. We’re committed to reducing personal taxation, to putting money back in people pockets and to growing the economy.

“This Government has made great strides, as is evident from the Live Register figures released today, but the current high rates of personal taxation need further reform. We need to continue to make work pay and ensure that people in all parts of the country feel the benefit of the growing economy in their pockets and in their lives. That is what we intend to do next year and into the future.

“Today’s Live Register figures give us confidence that if we stick with the plan, we can ensure that people’s sacrifices are not wasted, and that we can deliver a consistent, sustainable jobs recovery right across the country.”