Donegal TD Joe McHugh has said the Live Register in Donegal has fallen by 14.2% since this time last year.
He says that overall there has been a decrease of 37.3% here in the county since the launch of Fine Gael’s Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012.
Minister of State McHugh said: “The national unemployment rate now stands at 6.4%, down from a peak of 15.2% in 2012. The Live Register has declined by more than 40% nationally since we launched the Action Plan for Jobs in early 2012.
“Every region of Ireland has seen a substantial fall in unemployment and we in Fine Gael are determined that this trend continues.
“CSO figures show that the Live Register in Donegal has fallen by 14.2 per cent since May last year. Overall the Live Register has decreased by 37.3 here in Donegal since the launch of Fine Gael’s Action Plan for Jobs in February 2012.
“The number of people on the Live Register in May 2017 is the lowest number recorded since October 2008.
“We must ensure that this trend continues for the well-being of all our people across all our communities. In February we launched the Action Plan for Jobs 2017 to help find a job for anyone who needs one.”
The Carrigart politician said his party are determined that our economic resurgence is felt in all parts of Ireland.
More than 70% of the new jobs added in 2016 were outside Dublin and the Action Plan for 2017 will continue to focus on developing our regions.
“Each new job created in Donegal is another family looking forward to a brighter future. Fine Gael in Government continues to prioritise job creation, because we believe that only a strong economy, supporting people at work, can pay for the services needed to improve people’s lives here in Donegal and around the country.
“I have personally engaged with a number of companies in recent months who wish to create more jobs in Donegal later this year.
“New infrastructure projects are also providing good jobs locally with more major works due to get underway in the coming months including the Blue Banks bends between Kilmacrennan and Letterkenny.
“Small businesses are also increasing their workforces and these remain the backbone of our local economy, with the tourism sector doing particularly well thanks to this Government’s Wild Atlantic Way initiative. A great deal of progress is being made and we have more to do.”