IT is unsurprising that the recession has had an adverse impact on the Island’s rate of unemployment. Lower levels of economic activity inevitably mean not only job losses but also the suppression of job creation.

However, in spite of the predictability of present employment market conditions, the latest unemployment figures, which have just been published by the States Statistics Unit, are concerning. The number of Islanders actively seeking work continues to rise and the age profile of those looking for work is heavily skewed towards younger members of the workforce.

At the end of April 1,350 people were registered as job seekers, 40 more than at the end of March and 210 more than in April last year. But these are only indicative figures – for the simple reason that there is no compulsion here for the jobless to register, though the availability of Income Support is clearly an incentive.

Indeed, as far back as the summer of last year the International Labour Organisation said that, for purposes of international comparison, Jersey’s unemployment rate was three per cent, which equated to some 1,700 individuals.

It is, of course, true that a rate of three per cent compares favourably with rates elsewhere in Europe – Spain, for example, is trying to cope with a rate of over 20 per cent – but by Island standards the latest data, coupled with the upward slope of the graph, are disturbing. They suggest that the pain of the recession is anything but over.

Meanwhile, the skewing of the statistics towards people under the age of 25 is, on the face of it worrying, but when the figures are examined closely there is at least some room for optimism. Among those who have just left school, unemployment can be a brief phase. Also, there are signs that the Advance to Work scheme is paying dividends, the number of teenagers registered as jobless having fallen by 30 between the end of March and the end of April.

Of more concern is the recorded increase in the number of job seekers who have been unemployed for over a year. That figure was 70 higher at the end of April than at that time last year, though it was lower than in March, in all probability because seasonal jobs are becoming available. Despite that improvement, the category still accounts for a disturbing 14 per cent – or one in seven – of those looking for work.