22 unemployed for every job in the West of Ireland
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| The ratio of unemployed workers to job postings represents a seven-fold increase over the pre-pandemic number of three workers for every opening |
There were 22 unemployed workers for every advertised job opening in the West in September, showing the disproportionate economic impact of the pandemic on Atlantic counties.
According to new research published by the Central Bank, the region is facing a massive "re-employment challenge" due to the prevalence of small firms in COVID-exposed sectors like tourism and hospitality.
The ratio of unemployed workers to job postings represents a seven-fold increase over the pre-pandemic number of three workers for every opening. The national average in September was 14 unemployed per advertised job – more than 50pc better than on the hard-hit Atlantic seaboard.
"In the Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC), there is a concentration of employment in tourism, traditional sectors, and public services," the authors of the report noted. "Workers in AEC counties are more likely to work in very small firms which may find it more difficult to adjust and be resilient to the COVID-19 shock, in terms of liquidity and cost management."
Kerry and Donegal have been the worst hit in the region in unemployment terms, with one-third of the workforce in each county receiving pandemic unemployment payments (PUP) during the April peak of coronavirus. The national average was 25pc at the time.
Those two counties also experienced the biggest decline in PUP into October, with large flows of workers onto wage subsidy supports. By the end of August, 17pc of the workforce in the AEC were supported by wage subsidies.
Young women under 25 had the biggest swing from unemployment to subsidised employment in the region, with a 70pc increase of those on the temporary wage subsidy scheme from April to August.
But the report's authors said the general positive trend from PUP to wage subsidies was unlikely to last during the current lockdown.
"Early signs from the reintroduction of restrictions in September suggest a reversal of this pattern for the region," they said.
Outside the main cities of Galway and Limerick, the region had a pre-COVID vacancy rate of less than 1.5pc of total employment, compared to 3pc in Dublin. Donegal, Leitrim and Roscommon had even more labour slack, with vacancy rates of less than 1pc.
The report said that even when COVID restrictions are lifted and wage supports gradually tapered, the region may suffer long-term negative effects from the economic disruption because of structural factors that existed before the pandemic.
Therefore, the authors conclude, the challenge of recovery from COVID may have less to do with the short-term impacts of the pandemic than with the long-term economic conditions in the region, which already lagged more prosperous parts of the State.