The number of people signing on the live register rose by more than 2,000 last month as foot-and-mouth disease and the general international slowdown continued to take their toll on the economy.
Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday showed that the standardised unemployment rate, which was at an all-time low of 3.6 per cent in July, picked up slightly to 3.7 per cent in August.
More than 149,000 people claimed unemployment benefit or assistance, an increase of 2,338 on July's level, although the figure was down on August last year when more than 159,000 people signed on.
While the figures reflect some of the recent job losses in the economy, high-profile large-scale lay-offs like those announced by Gateway and General SemiConductor have yet to feed through.
Among those claiming unemployment benefit last month were 100 former Rank Xerox employees in Dundalk, 140 people who had lost their jobs at Monaghan Poultry and 100 workers laid off by Dell in Limerick.
However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs said that it was not inflows that had driven the live register higher. Instead, many people who would normally have come off the register in August to work in seasonal industries such as tourism and agriculture had not done so because of the impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis on these sectors, she said.
The Labour Party said the figures, coming in the wake of Exchequer returns signalling weaker-than-expected tax revenues this year, were a clear warning to the Government of a "worrying slowdown in the economy".
The party's spokesman, Mr Tommy Broughan, noted that the figures did not take account of recent high-profile closures. "It is probable that the figures will deteriorate further between now and the end of the year as these redundancies take effect," he said.
However, the Government said that the outlook on the employment front remained positive.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, noted that the live register was at its lowest August level since 1981 and although it had increased from July's levels, it was 6 per cent lower than in August last year and down 25 per cent on August 1999.
"An increase in the live register for the month of August is not unusual," he said.
The Tβnaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, also said the employment position in the Irish economy remained strong. "Our unemployment rate remains below 4 per cent, one of the lowest in the European Union, while the rate of long-term employment stands at just over 1 per cent." But she said the figures highlighted the need to maintain and improve the Republic's competitive position as an attractive location for job-creating investment. This would be one of the Government's key priorities in framing the 2002 Budget, Ms Harney added.
Employers' lobby group, IBEC, called for a reduction in labour costs to stimulate demand for workers and said the figures pointed to the need for a cut in employers' PRSI.
Meanwhile, recruitment consultants Merc Partners said that strong demand still existed for qualified executives, particularly in the areas of finance, human resources and general management.
"Despite today's figures, we still have a shortage of executive expertise in Ireland," Mr Barry O'Connor, a partner at Merc, said. "However, on the plus side for businesses, we are now finding that the time to fill senior appointments is getting somewhat shorter across the board."
