Jobless figures fall by more than 4,200

THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by more than 4,200 last month, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

But the numbers on the Live Register saw a slight increase of 300, when seasonal factors are included.

The CSO said the standardised unemployment rate went up to 4.6% last month, from 4.5% in February. Almost 169,000 people were on the Live Register in March, with part-time and casual workers making up 23,000 of the total. The year-on-year increase in Live Register numbers was 0.5%.