Wednesday, March 17, 2010 Previous editions
Saturday, November 07, 2009
ALL regions of the country experienced a decrease in the number of people signing on the Live Register last month.
New figures published by the Central Statistics Office show that no region saw an overall increase in unemployment levels during October.
The biggest monthly reduction was in the west region which covers Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, where there was a 3.3% fall in the number on the Live Register.
The largest percentage decrease occurred in Galway, where Live Register figures fell by over 6% — a reduction of almost 1,500 to just over 22,600 in the space of one month.
Mayo suffered the biggest increase in October, with a 1.2% rise in the number claiming unemployment payments as almost 12,300 in the county are now out of work.
Seven out of 26 counties recorded rising numbers on the Live Register in the past month — Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Meath, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Kerry.
Overall, the number of people signing on in October fell by 7,447 to 412,407 a drop of 1.8% on September figures.
However, on an annual basis the number claiming social welfare payments for being out of work has risen by 64.5% since October 2008 as an extra 161,721 people joined the Live Register.
The biggest increase over the past 12 months has occurred in the mid-east regions and the commuter belt around Dublin covering such counties as Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, with jobless figures up over 72%.
The smallest annual increase was in the mid-west, where figures have risen just 54.5%.
Clare has managed to record the lowest yearly increase in jobless numbers by some distance, with just a 23% rise over the past 12 months. All other counties have recorded increases ranging from 50% to 83%.
The latest CSO figures show that there were similar falls in the numbers signing on among Irish and foreign nationals.
Non-Irish nationals accounts for 18.5% of all persons on the Live Register — a figure which indicates that foreign nationals in Ireland are more likely to be out of work that Irish natives.
Over 41,600 from the 10 EU accession states are on the Live Register out of a total of just over 76,300 foreign nationals.
Although the Live Register is not a strict measure of unemployment as it also includes part-time, seasonal and casual workers to claim entitlements, it is still seen as a useful barometer of trends.
Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Bloxham Stockbrokers, said they were very encouraging as they hinted that the jobless rate may have peaked.
However, he also advised caution as Live Register figures in the autumn can be distorted by the re-opening of schools and third-level colleges after the summer holidays.
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