Figures go boom in government's face

(Dublin, Ireland)

The Irish government has published figures through the Quarterly National Accounts which it claims demonstrate that the country is out of the recession.

This claim is based on the fact that a “recession” is defined as two consecutive quarters of falling GDP. One quarter with a positive percentage is deemed not to be a recession – would that make it a boom?

The two previous quarters returned a fall in GDP of 7.4% and 7.9%; the last quarter apparently yielded a rise of 0.3%. Bang goes the boom.

According to the government’s own “seasonally adjusted” figures unemployment stands at close to 14%. This figure is appalling enough were it not for the fact that their figures show that around 450,000 people out of a population of 4.5 million are jobless, making a mockery of their figure of 14% unemployment.

The reality in Ireland is that the people are still in a recession and will continue to be for some time to come. There are no jobs; there is no money. The government will continue to fiddle the figures of course – right up until the next election, when the only figures that matter to them will blow up in their faces.