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August jobless rate falls to 15.4%

Official figures indicate that the unemployment rate was 15.4% in August, if all those receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) are included.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said this represented a drop from a figure of 17.6% in July. The rate hit 28.5% in May, but has been falling since as an easing of COVID-19 restrictions allowed more sectors of the economy to reopen.

Young take bigger jobs hit

The CSO figures show that the pandemic is having a bigger effect on younger workers, with the unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 24 standing at 37.8% in August.

The PUP has been extended until 1 April 2021.

The CSO also continues to publish a standard measure of unemployment, excluding those in receipt of the PUP. This figure rose by 2,600 from July to stand at 121,200, bringing the unemployment rate up from 5.1% to 5.2%.

Again, the rate for those aged 15-24 was significantly higher, at 17.5%.