Unemployment in Mid East Region is down to 8.1%
“The latest quarterly national household survey figures, released by the CSO this week, show that the national unemployment rate has dropped to 8.9% from a high of 15.1% in February 2012 and here in the Mid East region there has been a 38.9% drop in the number of people who are unemployed”, says Fine Gael TD for Kildare South Martin Heydon.
“Jobs have grown in all 8 regions since the Action Plan for Jobs was launched by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton in 2012. In total 135,800 extra jobs have been added to the economy since 2012 with 56,000 created in the last 12 months.
“The Mid-East Region which includes Kildare Meath and Wicklow has seen a drop in unemployment of 38.9% from the start of 2012 to now. The unemployment rate of 8.1% in this region for this quarter can be compared to 14.3% just 2 years ago.
“While more needs to be done to ensure that everyone feels its benefit, there can be no doubt that real progress has been made. Keeping the recovery going is Fine Gael’s top priority and we want to do this by creating jobs and reducing taxes for those who are at work. Less tax on work encourages jobs growth, creates more revenue for the exchequer and results in more money to invest in services.
“These figures confirm that the recovery is underway and with specific plans in place to drive job creation in regional areas, I am confident that we will see further sustainable growth in Kildare and the Mid East.”