DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland’s unemployment rate more than trebled to 16.5% at the end of March including those receiving emergency coronavirus jobless benefits, the state’s statistics office said on Thursday, ahead of a likely further surge this month.
The standard monthly unemployment estimate rose to just 5.4% from 4.8% in February, the Central Statistics Office said, as those in receipt of the new welfare payment “do not meet the internationally agreed criteria to be considered as unemployed”.
The new COVID-19 adjusted unemployment measure was based on the 283,037 people on the higher emergency payment and 207,200 on regular benefits at the end of the month. A further 224,000 received the emergency payment in the first three days of April, the employment affairs office said on Monday.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Catherine Evans)
