Further evidence that the housing slump has spilled over into the real economy in Ireland comes from Irish unemployment numbers today, up the most in 41 years of data. Ireland looks to be one of the hardest hit countries in Europe. In all likelihood, Ireland already is in recession with data like this.
Irish unemployment rose in July to the highest in a decade as the country’s housing slump deepened, prompting builders to cut jobs.
Benefit applications, adjusted for seasonal swings, increased to 226,000, the highest since July 1998, from 215,400 in June, the Cork-based Central Statistics Office said today. The claimant count has increased by 63,600 in the last 12 months, the biggest annual increase since the data was first collected in 1967.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent in July from 5.6 percent in June, according to the report. Irish monthly jobless figures include part-time and seasonal workers who claim unemployment benefits. Based on the Quarterly National Household Survey, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in the first quarter.