4th July 2012
The Irish Central Statistics Office today published the latest unemployment figures for the Republic – and they make dire reading. The headline figure for June is 14.9%, up from 14.7% in May, and up from 14.4% a year earlier, in June 2011. The latest quarterly figures given are for the 1st Quarter of 2012, at 14.8%.
At page 14 of the CSO’s press release we find a particularly striking (read shocking) table, which shows that unemployment has risen in Ireland without a pause over a perod of 5 years, if one compares each quarter with the same quarter (Q) in previous years.
The figures are as follows – and look at the vertical columns for the annual Q on Q comparisons:
| Year | Q1% | Q2% | Q3% | Q4% |
| 2007 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.8 |
| 2008 | 4.8 | 5.6 | 6.9 | 8.0 |
| 2009 | 10.1 | 11.9 | 12.5 | 12.8 |
| 2010 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 14.4 |
| 2011 | 14.1 | 14.3 | 14.6 | 14.5 |
| 2012 | 14.8 |
To repeat, there is not a single Quarter which is equal to or better than the same period of the previous year.
No wonder Ireland is no longer showcased – as it was just a year ago – as the principal austerity pin-up country by the European Central Bank, European Commission or other commentators. The failure of European austerity policy in Ireland is simply too evident, too abject.
