Source: CSO

Almost 18% of new entrants on the Irish Live Register in the first three months of 2009 got alternative employment by the end of June, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

There were 155,215 entrants to the Live Register during the first quarter of 2009. By mid-year (end June 2009), 59.1% of these were still on the Live Register and 17.6% were in employment. A further 4.0% were receiving a Social Welfare illness payment and only 0.3% were drawing a state pension. The status of the remaining 19.1% is not known - - this group includes those who, by the end of June, had left Ireland or started self-employment or returned to education. These details emerge from a new analysis of Live Register/employment flows, based on records of the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the CSO.

The CSO analysis of the H1 2009 data also shows that:

A high proportion of young people joined the Live Register: while 1 in 8 persons in employment at the end of 2008 was under 25 (source: Quarterly National household Survey - - QNHS - - Q4 2008), over a quarter of the Live Register entrants were aged under 25.

Similarly, non-Irish nationals were over-represented in the Live Register inflow: 14.9% of persons in employment at the end of 2008 were non-Irish, but 25.2% of Live Register entrants were non-Irish.

The rate of re-employment was higher for the under 25s than for those aged 25 and over (20.9% as against 16.3%), and somewhat higher for women than men (19.7% as against 16.5%). It also varied according to  the previous sector of employment. It was low for Production industries (12.4%) and highest for the Education sector (24.1%).

A cross-sectoral analysis shows that more than half (53%) of those who were re-employed by mid-2009 had moved to a different economic sector.

Sectoral analysis

The table below compares the sectoral employment distribution in Q4 2008 (from the QHNS) with the Live Register inflow (adjusted to exclude those from an unknown sector or with no previous employment). The five sectors with the highest inflow accounted for 82.7% of the total inflow but only 59.1% of total employment. These sectors are Production industries, Construction, Wholesale and retail trade, Hotels and restaurants, and Financial and other business services. The difference is particularly marked for the Construction sector (11.4% of employment but 19.4% of the inflow) and for Hotels and restaurants (5.9% of employment but 9.5% of the inflow). There were also large differences, but in the opposite direction, for Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Public administration and defence, Education, and Health, where the proportion of Live Register inflows was far lower than the proportion in employment.

Source: CSO

The CSO says overall, 59.1% of entrants were still on the Live Register at mid-year (though some could have left the register and rejoined it). This varied by sector, but it was always between a half and two-thirds. It was highest for Wholesale and retail trade (64.3%) and lowest for Hotels and restaurants (51.7%). The overall re-employment rate was low – only about 1 in 6 who entered the Live Register in Q1 2009 was in employment at mid-year. This proportion was lowest for Production industries (12.4%) and Construction (15.6%), and highest for Education (24.1%). 4.0% were in receipt of a Social Welfare illness payment at mid-year. It was highest (6.2%) for Production industries, and the Health sector (5.7%).