CSO reports 2.5% fall in live register figures

The Central Statistics Office has reported a 2.5% decrease in the number of people on the live register last month.

The CSO said the seasonally adjusted figures showed that the number of people signing on had fallen from 170,400 in March to 166,200 in April.

On an annual basis, the CSO said the live register figures had fallen by 6,280 (3.7%) in the year to the end of April, compared to an increase of 821 (0.5%) in the year to the end of March.

The Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed has welcomed the figures, saying they were a sign that the economic recovery was taking hold.