Live Register drops to lowest point since early ’09

The number of people claiming the dole has fallen by almost 40,000 in the last 12 months to its lowest level since early 2009.

There were 352,647 people on the Live Register last month, down from 391,507 in November 2013, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. The total for November of this year was almost 6,000 less than October.

As of last month there were 166,472 long term claimants, those who had been on the register for more than a year, 13,286 fewer than a year earlier. Long term claimants accounted for 47.2% of the total on the register.