A number of measurement issues related to the QHNS and the Live Register have been noted on this blog before. The QHNS is the official measure of unemploymemt in Ireland and it is based on more economically meaningful (ILO) definitions (compared to the Live Register). However, it needs to be handled with care because anyone working for pay or profit for one hour a week or more is classified as employed.
The Live Register is a more up-to-date source of information than the QHNS, but it is not purposefully designed to measure unemployment. It includes part-time workers (those who work up to three days a week), as well as seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance. A press release from the Department of Social and Family Affairs (from earlier this month) highlights another measurement issue related to the Live Register:
“the Live Register figures published by the CSO each month includes all claims awaiting decision. Once a claim is registered, it is counted for Live Register purposes regardless of whether the individual is in receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance or awaiting a decision on their claim. This means that the Live Register figure of 423,639 for September 2009, published by the CSO, includes some 14,300 Jobseeker's Benefit claims and 43,900 Jobseeker's Allowance claims which were awaiting decision at the end of September.”
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