By Gerard Gallen

The black economic clouds in the Finn Valley have darkened further with the news that the number of people signing on the Live Register in Ballybofey has hit 1,430 – the highest since the millennium.

The freefall in the economy has led to the number of males on the register in July (883) almost equalling the overall total for both male and females in the same month in 2007.

The figures for the Ballybofey office rose by 132 in the month of July while across the county the figure rose to 12,475, up 930 in just one month and a rise of 3,201 from July last year. In a year, the number signing on has jumped by 34.5%.

The drop in employment in the construction sector and the fall off from the traditional summer holidays for those in the trade is being blamed as nationally upwards of 20,000 jobs in the sector are expected to be lost this year, with redundancies in Donegal estimated as high as 1,500 after the holiday period alone.

A number of local contractors contacted by the Finn Valley Post admitted the slow down was very evident with a number of lay offs in recent times, but some stated that work could still be found on smaller projects.

“If you watch the television each night and read what is being said in the papers the atmosphere is very much doom and gloom. While the housing estate work has dried up and the overall slowdown has hit, work on private builds and extensions can still be found. But because of the slow down people are afraid to commit to getting work done for fear of affording mortgage repayments,” commented one contractor.

The Live Register records those working part time, in casual employment, seeking jobseekers allowances and benefits as well as those currently out of work.