The CSO reported that the Covid-19 adjusted unemployment rate dipped to 24.2% in March, from 24.8% in February. These figures are an estimate based on the Live Register and Covid-19 related claims. The main unemployment rate was unchanged from February at 5.8% in March on a seasonally-adjusted basis, up from 5.0% twelve months ago.
Jack Kennedy, economist at global job site Indeed, comments on the latest CSO data:
“Although lockdown fatigue has well and truly set in for many, a reopening is now on the horizon which provides some hope. The small drop in the Covid adjusted rate of unemployment is also a good sign that even under the most severe lockdowns, the rate is going down and some people are finding work.
The massive cultural and economic upheaval this pandemic has brought has also provided an impetus to reexamine the way we work. The new rural development plan launched by Government shows that remote work and decentralisation will become a bigger part of working life in the future. This is good news for those in rural areas with fewer job opportunities, as with decentralisation better infrastructure and a more evergreen local economy will likely follow.
One development that will be interesting to watch is whether customer facing jobs in Dublin permanently disappear or move somewhere else. Remote work is greater and more persistent in larger cities due to a larger amount of professional services jobs, a trend we see across Europe. This, coupled with the reallocation of work away from city centres, could suggest a difficult adjustment period for some urban workers.”
