Immigrants especially hit by severe Irish employment downturn

IRELAND’S latest job figures, for Q2 2009, are devastating – 264,600 persons unemployed at the end of June 2009, an increase of 137,900 (+108%) in a year. This is an unemployment rate of 11.6%.

The number of unemployed males is 186,900 compared to 77,700 females. The number of unemployed males increased by 122%

The number in employment was 1,938,500, a drop of 174,300 (8.2%) in this period – representing a decline in the participation rate from 64% to 62.5%.

 

Changes in Employment Pattern

The drop of 174,300 in the number employed between the end of Q2 2008 and 2009 was borne more heavily by workers from the last group of States to join the EU – those that increased the EU from 15 to 27 Members.

Nationality	Number employed Q2 2009	Share of jobs maintained Q 2  2009	Share of jobs lost
Irish	1,663,900	85.8%	65.8%
British	49,600	2.6%	2.4%
EU 15 excluding IE and UK	34,100	1.85%	+1.9%
EU 15 to EU 27	123,700	6.4%	24.1%
Others	83,900	3.5%	9.6%
TOTAL	1,938,500

 

Employment among immigrants from the EU 15 (excluding IE and UK) bucked the trend and increased by 3,300 jobs!  The 42,000 drop in employment of the EU15 to EU 27 cohort was most severe in industry (10,800), construction (15,100), wholesale and retail (5,300) and administrative support and services (4,100).

There were 16,100 additional jobs in the public sector – public administration, education and healthcare.  14,300 of these jobs were secured by Irish nationals.

Gains in Employment

Apart from the extra 16,300 jobs in the public sector, the only other sector to record job gains were 2,400 in information and communication and 3,600 in finance, insurance and, guess – real estate category!

There were 5,000 additional jobs in public administration of which 700 went to non-nationals.  There were 4,100 additional jobs in education of which 4,100 went to Irish nationals; 700 were lost by non-nationals.  The health services yielded an additional 7,000 jobs of which 5,400 were secured by Irish nationals.

Changes in Unemployment

Unemployment among non Irish nationals increased from 26,400 to 50,900.  The impact of this 24,500 increase in unemployment was: Irish (2,500), British (2,500), EU 15 (excluding IE and UK) (500), EU 15 to EU27 (16,900) and Other nationalities (4,600).

Emigration from Ireland

The number of persons who emigrated from Ireland in the year to 30 April 2009 increased by 40% to 65,100 and natives of Eastern European Member States accounted for 30,100 of these and Irish nationals accounting for 18,400. 

Immigration to Ireland

The number of arrivals in Ireland declined from 83,800 in the year to 30 April 2008 to 57,300 in the year to 30 April 2009.  There were 20,200 fewer immigrants from the EU15 to EU27 Member States.

There was net migration of –7,800 in the year to 30 April 2009.  That was the first time Ireland experienced net migration since 1994.

Births

The Opera of the Poor is at the top of the Hit Parade!  Births for the year to 30 April 2009 totalled 74,500 – a number not achieved since 1896!

The number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 45,100 – facilitating a natural increase in population.  The low point in recent times of natural increase was in 1994 when the corresponding figure was 16,600.