West lags behind on jobs

Jobs growth in the west is much slower than in the rest of the country.

That’s according to a new Western Development Commission publication ‘Jobs Recovery and the Western Region’, released last week.

Over the three years from 2012 to 2015, the number of people at work in the region grew by just 2.8%, which was less than half the growth in the rest of the state at 6.3%.

Interestingly, many of the new jobs are classified as self-employed which demonstrates that there is an entrepreneurial culture in the region.

Over this period, the number of self-employed increased by 13.6% compared with just 0.7% growth in the number of employees.

Self-employment is a more important source of jobs in the region than elsewhere, with one in five working people in the region self-employed, compared with one in six in the rest of Ireland.

“While the jobs recovery that is taking place in the Western Region is welcome, the slower pace means the region is not fully benefitting from improving economic conditions.

“Limited job options, particularly in smaller towns, villages and  more rural areas, means that more people are having to create their own jobs,” said WDC Chairman Paddy McGuinness.

“65,000 people work for themselves in the Western Region with over three-quarters of them working alone.  Fully recognising and supporting self-employment as a source of jobs growth is central to the region’s future.  Addressing issues such as social protection, broadband access, isolation and support to scale are vital for the region’s self-employed,” he added.

The region’s slower jobs recovery is impacting on young people – between 15 and 24 – in particular.

In 2015 the region’s youth unemployment rate was 30.8% compared with just 20% for those living in the rest of the country.

Young people who are out of work and not in education or training for a long time, face serious barriers in finding work.

Employment in several of the sectors where young people often find jobs, such as retail and hospitality, declined in the Western Region between 2012 and 2015, while it grew in the rest of the country.

“Our region’s young people are suffering because of the uneven regional spread of Ireland’s jobs recovery.

“This reality needs to be acknowledged and addressed in any Programme for Government agreed in discussions presently taking place on the formation of a new Government,” concluded Mr McGuinness.