The graph below shows the unemployment levels in Ireland and the number of citizens leaving the country between 1988 and 2008. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The line graph compares the unemployment rate with the number of individuals who migrated over a 20-year period between 1988 and 2008 in Ireland.
According to the figures, the number of people leaving the country decreased sharply from its highest point of around 60 thousand to a little more than 35 thousand between 1988 and 1992. Although there was a slight incline in the number of people moving abroad to just under 40,000 in the next two years, starting from 1994, this figure showed a downward trend, reaching the lowest point at roughly 25,000 in 2002. However, over the next 6 years, the number of people migrating doubled to 50 thousand.
As for the joblessness rate in Ireland, this figure started at its peak in 1988 at around 17%, followed by a slight fall to approximately 13%. More importantly, despite increasing to nearly 15 % in 1992, the unemployment rate then dropped significantly, reaching the lowest point of around 4,5% in 2000. By the end of the presented time period, the level of unemployment rose slightly to 6 %.
Overall, it can be seen that both the unemployment rate and the migration figure experienced a dramatic decline, with some fluctuations, in the first decade. Additionally, during the second half of the period, the two figures stayed low for a couple of years before rising again at the end, following a similar pattern throughout the period.