Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The live register headline figures are officially coming out this morning and they are expected to be 412,400. That represents a month on month decrease of 11,200 or 2.6% since September 2009. The decrease is evident across all nationality groupings. One takes no great heart from the fact that we have 412,400 people on the headline total for the live register at the end of October. The unemployment rate is expected to be 12.4%, which is down from the September rate of 12.6%. When seasonal factors are taken into account the live register for October is estimated at 422,400, which is a month on month decrease of 7,000 or -1.6% since September 2009. The year on year increase of 162,000 since October 2008 is 62.3% up on that date.

It is important to point out that the live register sets out those people who are signing on for jobseeker's benefit and allowance, which comes to a total of 245,000 people. Approximately 70,000 people who are on short-time work or are doing casual work are signing on for some part of the week. Then there are people who have cases pending, whose cases have been suspended or who have been disallowed. They come to a total of approximately 78,000.

We have increased by approximately 38% the number of people who have been brought into the employment action plan process this year and more than 55,000 people, approximately half of the people on those plans, have signed off the register. It is important to note that some of those people have obtained work and approximately 13% have gone into training or work experience. It is important that we recognise that of the 55,883 people who were just three months or more on the register who were referred to FÁS under the employment action plan to see in what way they could be assisted, a total of 2,200 were placed in jobs by FÁS, 5,000 were placed in programmes, training or education and 20,495 others left the live register.

There is a lot of churn, and many people coming on and off the register all the time. I wish to make those points because sometimes the headline figure for the live register is taken to be the level of unemployment. The national household survey is the best gauge of employment and unemployment trends in the economy. Deputy Coveney suggested that cases pending are not included and that one then adds on that figure, which is not correct. Cases pending are included in the overall figures, so while things are difficult there is no point in exaggerating to make a political point.

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