Sign off the times.... Jobless figures halved in past decade in Meath

The number of people on the Live Register in Meath has more than halved over the past decade with latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showing there were 4,186 'signing' on in the county last month.

This compares to 9,931 for the same month in 2014 and the numbers on the Live Register are now at their lowest level since the recession hit. The number peaked at 12,350 in July 2011 and have generally been following a downward trend since then apart from a slight increase between July 2019 and July 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Looking at the month of July, the last time figures were lower in Meath was in 2007 when there were 3,566 'signing on'. This rose by almost 2,000 in 2008 but then rose sharply in 2009 when figures doubled. The number continued to increase in 2010 and 2011 but started to slowly decline over the next five years going below 5,000 for the first time in 2019. Then in 2020, the Covid pandemic saw an increase to 5,146 but since then numbers have stayed below 5,000.

In July of this year there were 4,186 people claiming benefits in Meath, a decrease of just over five per cent on July 2023 when there were 4,420 on the Live Register in the county. A total of 470 of the were under 25 years of age in July, an increase from the same month a year ago when there were 434 young people claiming benefits.

Last month, of the 4,186 signing on, 2,235 were claiming benefits at the Navan Social Welfare Office, 1,205 in Trim and 746 in Kells.

Meanwhile, Child Benefit has now been paid in respect of 2574 18-year-olds in Meath for the very first time according to Fine Gael Councillor Sharon Tolan.

Child Benefit is available to anyone across the country who is 18 and in full-time education, or who has a disability, up until their 19th birthday, and is paid at a rate of €140 per month. To date, this measure has benefited over 58,000 young people in full-time education or with a disability.