Jobless total falls for second month in a row

THE number of people on the dole has fallen for the second month in a row with unemployment now at 13.6%.

According to figures, it is the first month-on-month drop in the jobless rate since the downturn took a severe hold in 2007. Taoiseach Brian Cowen said: “There is evidence that the labour market is stabilising.”

The Central Statistics Office said headline figures showed a total of 429,553 people signing on in October, down 12,864, with the seasonally adjusted figure of 443,000, down 6,600 last month.