'I wouldn't be concerned that it is a general scenario that the economy is suffering' - Leitrim councillor

The unemployment rate increased slightly in July when compared to the previous month, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show with the seasonally adjusted rate 4.9%, up from 4.6% in June.

The monthly youth unemployment rate for those aged 15-24 were at 12.2%, from 11.3% the previous month and the rate for those aged 25-74 years increased slightly to 3.8%, from 3.6% in June.

On an annual basis, the unemployment rate increased from 4.5% last July.

Speaking to the Leitrim Observer, Cllr Enda McGloin said that he "wouldn't be concerned that it is a general scenario that the economy is suffering. I think it's because people are varying their career options; I would put it down to that. I would be more concerned if I was hearing from employers that they were letting people go."

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Cllr McGloin said that, in his experience, employers are on the lookout for staff. "Generally speaking, employers are still find it very difficult to find people to work which you can see if you observe newspapers and websites that contain ads. You also have billboards around Carrick looking for people such as Freudenberg Medical etc. Certainly employers will tell you that there is still a very strong market for jobs and yet, people may leave their job in favour of alternative options going back to retraining and than in some cases, to apply for some jobs, you have to be unemployed for a period of time."

Cllr McGloin continued: "I think weather-wise, the summer has been fairly decent and my observation from where I am here in Drumshanbo, based in the food hub, there is a very strong activity in the Jackalope Cafe and visitor numbers are well up. The company's there are actively looking at taking more employees on. In the coming weeks, it's hoped that Chef in a Box will be moving to their new premises on Dara Road and my understanding is that they will be looking for more people. The distillery is also looking at another bottling line in their plant. I'm optimistic for that standpoint."

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He concluded: "We'll just have to see where if the trend continues; one blip like that certainly isn't much of an indicator; I think you would need to see at least two to three reports like that in a row to see if there was a worrying trend."