Waterford the only county escaping longer dole queues

WATERFORD might be hoping for hurling glory tomorrow but the Déise county has already another reason to boast — it was the only county in the Republic which recorded a reduction in the number of people signing on the live register last month.

Rising jobless numbers across the country has seen a further jump in the unemployment rate in August. However, there was a 3.5% reduction in the number of people claiming benefits in Waterford.

Increases in the number of people signing on the live register were recorded in every other county, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.