Dole queue rise highest in Cork and Meath

THE number of people joining the dole queues in Cork and Meath increased by almost 60% during 2009, far higher than in any other county.

According to figures released by the Central Statistics Office at the end of December there were 423,595 people on the Live Register of claimants for jobseekers’ allowance or benefit. That is 133,577, or 46.1%, more than at the same time in 2008. In the month between November and December the number on the register increased by 10,090 or 2.4%.

When the national figure is broken down to a county-by-county comparison, it becomes clear how much of an impact the recession had in each region.