Inishowen jobless figures continue to fall

3,821 signing on Buncrana Live Register
INISHOWEN’S unemployment figures have continued to drop for the third consecutive month and the number of people signing on in Buncrana is still at its lowest number in more than five years, the latest figures from the CSO have revealed.
A total of 3,821 people signed on in Buncrana for the month of April, making it the lowest jobless figure here since December 2008. The tally shows that, compared to last month, the jobless figure is slightly down as it dropped by a further 30 people.
However, based on the 2011 census figures, the unemployment figure is almost twice the national average approximately 22%.
The majority of unemployment people signing on at Buncrana are men aged more than 25 years of age – a total of 2,026 are registered as unemployed according to the CSO statistics.
They are followed by women aged 25 or more, with a total of 1,174 unemployed females signing on here.
Added to that a total of 621 of men and women aged between 18 and 25 are currently without employment in Inishowen – the majority of which, 378, are men, while 243 are women. This is in stark contrast to April 2009 when almost double that amount, 1,109, young people were signing on at the Buncrana Social Welfare Office.
The biggest unemployment drop was seen in amongst men aged more than 25 category, which dropped by 15 people from March to April. However, every category noted a decrease, men aged 18-25 dropped by 7, while the decline in the females category was lesser. The number of women aged 25 plus dropped by three, while the number of young women signing on in Buncrana fell by five.