Tánaiste welcomes further drop in unemployment

Behind every new job is a person or family benefitting from recovery

The Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton T.D., has welcomed the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office showing 30,500 fewer people unemployed.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.6% in January, down from 10.1% in the same month last year. The overall number of people unemployed has fallen by 30,500 in the same period.

The Tánaiste said: “These figures are further evidence of the strong jobs-led recovery the Government is driving.  More than 135,000 new jobs have been added and we will shortly have more than two million people at work.  Unemployment has fallen from a crisis peak of 15.1% to 8.6% now.  Behind every new job, every return to work, is a person or family benefitting from the recovery in their own lives.

“But we have more work to do, because we want to ensure a job for everyone who wants one. To that end, I recently published the Pathways to Work 2016-2020 Strategy to ensure we speed up the progress towards full employment and help those on the Live Register to avail of work, training and education opportunities.

“This Government has stood up for working people by placing our unrelenting focus on jobs and employment, and will continue to do so.”