By Alan Healy
Ireland's unemployment rate for May was 26% with more than half of young people aged between 15 and 24 out of work due to COVID-19.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the new COVID-19 adjusted measure of unemployment indicates a rate as high as 26.1% if all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment were classified as unemployed.
Breaking the results down by broad age group, the unemployment rate was 51% for those aged 15 to 24 years and 22.5% for those aged 25 to 74 years.
However, the rate for May shows a decline from the record in April of 28.2%.
Edel Flannery, Senior Statistician, CSO said the Covid-19 crisis has continued to have a significant impact on the labour market in Ireland in May.
"While the standard measure of Monthly Unemployment was 5.6% in May, a new COVID-19 adjusted measure of unemployment indicates a rate as high as 26.1% if all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment were classified as unemployed," she said.
Updated figures published by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection showed there were 543,200 people receiving the €350-a-week pandemic unemployment payment, down by 36,200 in the past week.
