Jobless numbers jump 8.6%

Meath has recorded the country"s highest rise in the numbers signing on the live register in August, after an 8.6 per cent increase in the month since July. This hike brings the total number of social welfare claimants to 5,777 - over 2,200 higher than a year ago. There were a total of 457 more signing on at the county"s three labour exchanges in August than in July, during which Kells saw its numbers hit 1,013 (an increase of 73), Navan, 3,074 (+289) and Trim, 1,690 (+95). Of even more concern is the rise of claimants aged under 25 at Meath"s three exchanges - they now number 703 males and 446 females. The July-August record increase in the live register brought the national figure of social welfare recipients to 247,384, or 3.8 per cent higher than last month. The number of men signing on in the Mid-East (Meath, Kildare and Wicklow) region rose by 7.7 per cent and women by 3.2 per cent, both the highest nationally, while the region"s 53.4 per cent rise in claimants since August 2007 is also the country"s biggest rise. The region"s 5.9 per cent increase between July and August was some distance higher than any other region. The construction industry and its many servicing enterprises account for the largest segment of the county"s rise, with the Ulster Bank Construction PMI this week describing the large August increase as being in 'a slower decline' mode than the previous three months. The supply overhang of new homes and premises was being worked off in the marketplace but the current fresh lows were not 'unusual in employment terms'. There were some indications from household goods manufacturers in Oldcastle that order books were holding up well, with short-time working having ended at some enterprises over recent weeks. SIPTU Meath secretary John Regan said this week that construction had taken the brunt from the downturn in the economy but his members were very aware of short-term working in many suppliers. 'Those figures are not reflected in the live register,' he added. It remained very difficult to predict current trends, but among the redundancies in construction countywide had been employees of Howley Construction, which had been working on sections of the M3. Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare has issued a statement regarding the backlog of claims awaiting decision. The Social Welfare local office in Navan deals with claims for most of County Meath, including claims from the branch offices in Kells and Trim. The Live Register in these offices, which is about 5,800, has increased by over 60 per cent in the past 12 months and this increase, together with the summer holiday period and the seasonal influx of new claims from workers in the educational and other sectors, had resulted in a backlog of claims awaiting decision, it said. It said that every effort was being made to tackle the situation. Two additional staff members had recently been assigned to the office and a further two appointments were currently being processed. In addition, staff had been working overtime in the past number of weeks to deal with the claims on hand. While there had been an increase in time in deciding new claims, payments to existing customers were not affected, the office stressed. The Department said it was open to people waiting on their social welfare claim to be decided on, to seek Supplementary Welfare Allowance from the Health Service Executive (HSE). This is subject to a means test and other conditions. It added: 'In relation to Jobseekers Benefit, it is the case that, when a decision has been made on a claim, and the applicant qualifies for payment, the payment will be backdated.'