Unemployment remained below 9 per cent last month and was down from 10.4 per cent compared to November 2014, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The data show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November was 8.9 per cent, unchanged from the revised October rate.
According to CSO there were 191,000 individuals categorised as unemployed in November, 32,100 fewer than for the same month a year earlier and 700 fewer than in October 2015.
The initial unemployment rate estimate for September was revised down from 9.4 per cent to 9 per cent, leading Davy to suggest that November’s rate could end up being as low as 8.5 per cent.
“The flat unemployment rate in November should not be taken as a strong signal of any slowdown in the labour market. Indeed, Ireland’s PMI surveys continue to indicate that both manufacturing and service sector companies continue to add jobs. Our concern is that our forecast for the unemployment rate to average 8.2 per cent in 2016 could still prove too pessimistic,” said Davy’s chief economist Conall Mac Coille.
Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion said while the latest figures were a little weaker than expected, Ireland’ s unemployment rate still compares favourably with a current euro zone average of 10.7 per cent.
“With the economy continuing to grow strongly, an average jobless rate of 9.4 per cent is envisaged for 2015 as a whole, down from 11.3 per cent in 2014. We see the unemployment rate falling further in 2016, to 8.5 per cent,” he said.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for males was 10.1 per cent last month compared to 10.2 per cent in October and 11.9 per cent for November 2014.
The rate for females was unchanged in November versus October at 7.3 per cent but was down from 8.6 per cent for the same month last year.
The youth unemployment rate was 19.6 per cent last month, down from 19.8 per cent a month earlier.
Eurozone
Unemployment across the 19-country eurozone economy has fallen to its lowest level in nearly four years, official figures have shown.
Figures from Eurostat showed theunemployment rate across the region fell in October to 10.7 per cent from 10.8 per cent the previous month, after a 13,000 decline in the number out of work to 17.24 million.
