Thousands have been waiting in the cues in different cities in Ireland to enter the job fairs that offered jobs in Australia. It was a €10 entrance fee, and jobless people have cued for hours to pay it. Their dream is to leave the country in a search for a better future. Australia with its currently low unemployment rate sounds like a promised land.

There is a lot of political debate about unemployment in the recent years.

Governments are changing but the unemployment just keeps rising. With all the emigration we currently have, and we did not have one like this in a recent history, the unemployment rate in Ireland in still a steady number of just above 14%. Imagine just for a second that we do not have this emigration all this years? What would the unemployment rate be in Ireland today?

The huge number of recent immigrants have also returned to their home countries. Some have moved on to the third countries, in a search for a better life. It is estimated that more than 100 000 Polish of the 250 000 that came over here, returned home. If they would have stayed only this would add 20% more unemployed people on the register.

Regardless of the thousands of unfilled jobs in Australia, the reality is that there are countries where Irish are more than welcome and there are those others. In Europe, Ireland has the image of one of those nicest counties to live (and work). Celtic Tiger will not be forgotten, since it was in the European news for long, long time. Every single Eastern European country wanted to become the new Ireland. Irish economic success was used as the yardstick for measurement of the performance of the various European  governments for years. That will not really be forgotten soon. The last 3 to 4 years of recession and the effective bankruptcy and the nationalisation of the Irish banks haven’t done that much damage to Irish brand in the Europe. There is always some Greece that is easier to blame than a lovely green Isle, whose pubs we all love.

Jobs in Australia, as can be seen on the Gumtree jobs site advertisement in Australia might be a bit different story. The message from the job advertiser is clear: “No Irish need apply”.