17,000 more workers sign on Live Register

More than 17,000 more people signed on the Live Register over the past month, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The CSO says almost 436,000 people were on the register in July, an increase of 83% over the past 12 months.

The standardised unemployment rate has now increased to 12.2%.

The Live Register, however, is not a measure of unemployment as it includes seasonal, casual and part-time workers.

The latest official unemployment figure was 223,400 in the first quarter of this year.