Unemployment rate in South now double that in North
WE are Northern Ireland's poor relation again as new figures reveal unemployment over the border is just half the rate here.
The Republic has resumed its poor position prior to the boom years, according to the latest official statistics that show our rate of 12.2pc is almost double the North's 6.7pc level.
British government figures released yesterday show the percentage of people out of work in the North has risen by over 2pc in the past year to 51,000, but dole queues are still much shorter than they are here.
Our latest live register figures published last week show we have jumped to a jobless rate of 12.2pc, with 423,400 signing on, despite a drop in the rate of increase.
The Republic's unemployment rate is also 4.4pc higher than Britain's despite the fact that its 7.8pc jobless rate -- unveiled yesterday by the Office for National Statistics -- is its highest since 1996.
Economists last night laid the blame for the difference between the economies north and south of the Border on the Republic's property bubble.
They said the massive loss of tens of thousands of construction jobs had fuelled the rise in the unemployment rate.
Director of the Northern branch of the Confederation of British Industry, Nigel Smyth, said the reversal in the Republic's unemployment fortunes could be traced back to the second quarter of last year.
He pointed out that the oversupply of housing could be clearly seen by the peak in building at around 90,000 units, when the UK height was around 140,000.
"The Republic has been much more unfortunate and has been particularly badly hit by the downturn in construction," said Mr Smyth.
"We have been hit by the downturn in this sector, too, but it is such a large part of the Republic's economy. Our job losses were thousands in the sector when they were tens of thousands in the Republic due to the housing bubble."
He said the Northern economy was not growing and would fall further this year; but significant investment in the public sector, as the UK government's capital spend hit record levels recently, was expected to buoy it up.
"For now ,public expenditure is providing a significant shelter to offset the major downturn in manufacturing," said Mr Smyth.
- ANNE-MARIE WALSH
