Concern as Live Register figures increase by 1,100

FEARS that jobless figures are on the rise again have intensified after the latest Live Register figures show an extra 1,100 people signed on in March.

New data from the Central Statistics Office shows that the number of people on the Live Register has increased to 442,000 this month after a downward trend in the figures since last September.

However, the overall unemployment rate has remained the same as February at 14.7%.

The total number on the Live Register has increased by 10,900 over the past 12 months — an annual rise of 2.5% on seasonally adjusted figures.

On a more positive note, the March total remains 6,800 below the peak level of 448,800 recorded last September.

More worryingly, the number of long-term claimants on the Live Register (people claiming social welfare for periods in excess of 12 months) has risen by 48.5%, or over 40,000 in the past year to 166,627.

The CSO figures show that three times as many women as men were added to the Live Register over the past month.

They also reveal that the number of people aged 25 and under signing on the dole has decreased by 3,635 or 4.3% over the past year.

The mid-west region, which covers Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary, was the only one of eight regions in the Republic to record a drop in the number of people on the Live Register in the past year — down 1.3%.

The latest CSO figures for the total number of people who are unemployed stood at 315,000 at the end of December.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association called on the Government to deliver on its promise of new jobs to address continuing “disastrous” unemployment levels.

IBEC described the figures as “disappointing” and warned long-term unemployment was becoming a serious problem.