Live Register figures fall slightly

The number of people signing on in Ireland fell by 4,835 to 166,105 last month, according to figures released today by the Central Statistics Office.

When seasonally adjusted, the CSO said the Live Register figures fell by 900 in May. The latest figures brought the annual Live Register increase to the end of May 2003 to 11,161, or 7.2%.

This compares to an annual increase of 14,703, or 9.4%, in the 12 months to the end of April 2003 and appears to indicate a slowdown in the rate of job losses during the month of May.

Commenting on the figures, the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed was pessimistic about the decrease being sustained in the coming months.

Spokesman Eric Conroy said: "Economic pundits have said that the figures are definitely going to rise. There's just a slight pause at the moment and we feel that they might go up again next month.

"The year-on-year rise is quite stark, showing that there is definitely an upper trend on unemployment."