There’s been a significant jump in the number of people on the live register in Clare in the past month.
From November to December, an additional 245 people joined dole queues bringing the total number to close to 6,000 – with the largest proportion of those in the county town.
However, the statistics still show a significant annual drop.
Live register figures in Clare are now at their highest since July of last year.
Figures have been rising steadily since September – from then until now, a further 568 people have signed on.
The CSO figures show that 5,949 people were on some form of unemployment benefit at the end of 2017, but that’s still down almost 750 on the beginning of the year.
President of Ennis Chamber William Cahir believes the rise in recent months could be down to a lack of appropriate training provided to jobseekers.
Around the county, different rates of increase in dole numbers have been experienced.
Ennis saw the biggest change where a further 84 people joined the live register from November to December.
That rise in North Clare was 64, it was 59 in West Clare, while East Clare saw an additional 38 people signing on.
Killaloe Municipal District Fianna Fáil Councillor Pat Hayes believes it’s further proof that there’s a worrying over-reliance on seasonal employment.
