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Jobless rate spikes

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Andrew Bushe

DUBLIN — Job losses are continuing to mount as the impact of the economic slowdown and the terror attacks on America hit home with the number signing on the Live Register for benefits rising by 7,554 in the five weeks to the end of January.

The January unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, the first time the rate has gone above 4 percent since July 2000.

Fine Gael Employment spokesman Charles Flanagan described it as the worst jobless increase in a month for many years.

“Rising costs now mean that Ireland is no longer a competitive location for much of manufacturing industry,” he said. “The ongoing announcement of factory closures highlights the situation in a very dramatic way.”

Unemployment had reached a historically low level of 3.6 percent in the three months from January to March 2001.

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There were 159,960 people signing on for benefits in January, up 17,889 in a year.

Flanagan promised the rising jobless numbers would be a main election issue.

“With unemployment rising steadily on a monthly basis, it is clear that the government has no plan to stem the tide,” he said.

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