Juking the Stats

In Blog, Politicsby Fedayn8 Comments

When 30 jobs were to go at Garry Egan’s workplace he set himself the task of tracking job announcements and job losses over the space of a month to see how accurate the Government’s unchallenged mantra of ‘3000 new jobs a month’ really is.

Turns out, not so much.

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 16.51.41

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 16.45.17

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 16.40.11

 

Comments

  1. An interesting exercise in the field.

    It’s risible when RTE announces 40 new jobs, or some such small figure, and sometimes proceeds to break that down by firm: I’ve even heard 10 new jobs mentions as part of one breakdown. There seems no correspondeing detailed report of the routine loss of job numbers like that and big companies wouldn’t even bother to annouce the pruning or ‘rationalisation’ of a particular small department.

    The loss of the five jobs at Dublin Community Television was perhaps too small for the broadcast news, and it did surface elsewhere in the media. But the previous closure I went through, a plastics factory in 2005, axed 130 jobs on the border of Ballymun and Finglas and it got nary a mention by RTE or the Irish Times, except for an excellent court report of the liquidation in that paper by Mary Carolan.

    The continuous announcements of new jobs, even small amounts, by RTE gives the impression of ‘recovery’ though real recovery would need a large movement of job creation to make a difference to the present level of mass unemployment.

    Last night’s ‘Late Debate’, on RTE Radio 1, which pitched Ballyhea against a government minister and two economic heavyweights (he was well able for them), included an interesting segment on jobs and recovery. It was noted that many of the new jobs are in agriculture and therefore the figure is a little strange. Many of the jobs are new sole traders or new entrepeneurs. Now sole trading is often a second or third choice response to no job availability or job loss. Then there’s huge emigration to place beside the falling unemployment figures.

  2. The spin about the boom in IT also needs to be looked at. I graduated 9 months ago from a 1 year post graduate diploma which I went on through Springboard. Out of a class of twenty, one of us gained employment within the IT sector. This person already had a background in IT. Within my own sector I am highly qualified and successful but had to look at other options to gain employment due the economic down turn. Another person from my class who has a 1:1 masters in her field was offered a data entry internship by a multinational computer company. If there is such a shortage of people in the IT sector why are we not being snapped up? If I was offered a premises for next to nothing, 1% corporation tax and a work force of people I could pay €50 per week I would be telling everyone that business is booming. Where are all these jobs and why can I not get one with a degree and post graduate diploma under my belt along with all the experience I gained in my previous career? I am not looking for a large salary, just minimum wage to get my foot in the door. I am self employed and not entitled to social welfare so I cannot go on an internship.

    1. I hear you re the IT “boom” have honours degree and post grad diploma in Computer science and can’t find any of these “jobs” that we are constantly hearing about.

      1. I presumed the jobs were going to computer science graduates. But after talking to a number of people who work in IT I learned that graduates are having as much difficulty. The thing I am finding difficult is that this course was sold to me as way into the “booming” IT sector. It took up a year of my life and all I have to show is a qualification that is not getting me work. Perhaps if I emigrate it will help me find employment. The galling thing is that the people running this course are getting paid by the tax payer and it is all a big lie.

        1. You want to try doing a post grad in Librarianship in the UK, just before the general election.
          I now wash blood off surgical instruments for a living.

  3. + if you want a bit of media coverage in Ireland put out a press release saying you’ll create fifty jobs.

    There’s little follow up on these bogus claims.

Leave a Reply to Gary Swan via Facebook Cancel reply