Figures published by the Central Statistics Office indicate that the Live Register in Athlone has declined by 17 percent on an annual basis and 53 percent since 2011, Fine Gael Deputy, Peter Burke, commented, this week.
“In total, 2,118 people are back to work in the Athlone area, while 5,575 throughout Westmeath are back to work since Fine Gael entered Government This is excellent news for our local economy and for the people of Athlone and Westmeath.
“The number of people on the Live Register in May is the lowest number recorded in the seasonally adjusted series since February 2008, while earlier this week, the monthly unemployment rate for May fell to 4.4 percent, the lowest rate since 2005. The number of people unemployed in May was 108,200, down from 111,300 when compared to the April figure and a decrease of 33,200 when compared to May of 2018,” Deputy Burke reflected.
Deputy Burke paid particular reference to the Government’s annual action plan for jobs creation when noting the decline in Live Register figures.
“This consistent growth is reflective of the success of the Government’s annual Action Plans for Jobs and this momentum is now carried on through the Future Jobs Ireland framework. Some 221,100 new jobs have been created since the start of 2016, we have well exceeded our target of 200,000 new jobs by 2020. Furthermore, our regional goal of 135,000 jobs has also been surpassed with 150,000 jobs created outside Dublin as of the first quarter of this year.
“At a time of strong economic growth and almost full employment, it would be easy to become complacent, but Fine Gael is preparing now for tomorrow’s world.
“Future Jobs Ireland 2019 is the first in a series of annual reports as part of this new medium-term framework. The commitments in the report will support continued employment growth across Ireland and further reductions in unemployment. We are also delivering Project Ireland 2040, which will ensure sustainable growth over the next twenty years for all parts of Ireland.
“It combines our plan for how Ireland will grow over the next 20 years and is backed up by a €116 billion 10 year capital plan. This will mean that for the first time in Ireland’s history we will ensure that our planning and capital investment plans are meaningfully aligned; the money follows the plan.
“It will ensure that there is a more effective balance of growth across our country, with the intention that all the regions grow at broadly comparable rates,” Deputy Burke concluded.
