ESRI Seminar: Irish Household Joblessness Transitions in Boom, Recession and Recovery – Analysis of the QNHS

Speakers: Dorothy Watson, Bertrand Maître, Helen Russell

Household joblessness, understood as people under the age of 60 living in a household where nobody is in employment, is a major risk factor for poverty and welfare dependency. The rate of household joblessness has been much higher in Ireland than in other European countries since the start of the recession. Household joblessness is distinct from individual unemployment in two ways: it includes other reasons (as well as unemployment) for non-employment such as caring responsibilities, illness or disability and it takes account of whether there are other adults in the household in employment. The focus on household joblessness has increased recently, but much of the emphasis has been on the situation at a point in time with little attention paid to movements into and out of joblessness. This report draws on the large sample from the Quarterly National Household Survey to examine household joblessness transitions in Ireland from 2004 to 2014. The questions addressed include the extent to which joblessness is persistent or transitory; the extent to which jobs are going to jobless household and whether household joblessness or the presence of children makes it less likely that an individual will move into work.