Unemployment benefit claims rose sharply in November

THE number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased last month and staff lay-offs have also risen by close to a third this year.

News of the soaring numbers on the Live Register came after the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment revealed that redundancies for the year are up by 28%. To date this year 23,556 people have lost their jobs.

The live register now stands at just under 159,000, and when seasonally adjusted the numbers rose by 2,200 in November. The increase is made up of 1,400 men and 800 women.