Irish Unemployment Hits 10.2%

The number of people on the Dole in the Irish Republic has surged sharply reaching its highest rate in the past ten years, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office's.

The National Household Survey reported that unemployment has risen to 10.2%, the highest rate since 1997.

The news comes in a wake of other bad tidings for the Irish economy, with a report on Wednesday from the OECD predicting Irish markets would shrink by almost 10% this year, while the International Monetary Fund says the collapse of tax revenue could push the budget deficit up to 12%.

The IMF said today that Ireland's huge economic growth of recent years masked serious problems - including the fragility of the public finances. The organisation claimed generous rises in public sector wages pushed up wages elsewhere, making Ireland less competitive.

In the year to March there was a decrease of 158,500 jobs, which is equal to a 7.5% fall in employment.

The worst affected sector was the construction industry where the numbers employed fell by 28.6%.

Meanwhile, also today, confectionery company Cadbury has announced plans to cut up to 200 jobs at its plants in Coolock in Dublin and Rathmore, Co Kerry.

In a statement, the company said recent currency movements had added to the high cost of manufacturing in Ireland.

A spokesman said: "This loss of competitiveness has led to a decline in export demand."

(DW/BMcC)