Burton welcomes further fall in unemployment figures

THE Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, has today welcomed the latest figures showing that unemployment has fallen to 9.3 per cent – down from 10.6 per cent this time last year.

The number of people out of work has fallen by 24,900 over the last 12 months, meaning 2,000 fewer people unemployed every month.

The Tánaiste said: “This is hugely significant progress and shows that we are increasing the momentum in terms of helping people back to work. Unemployment is down from a crisis peak of 15.1 per cent to 9.3 per cent now and thousands of people are returning to work every month.”

She added: “The Pathways to Work strategy and Action Plan for Jobs have contributed significantly to this progress and the Government will be developing both strategies further to help us reach the target of full employment by 2018.”