Decline in number of people signing on Live Register last month

There were 2,600 fewer people on the Live Register on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, CSO figures revealed today.

The 0.7% decline reduced the seasonally adjusted total to 347,100.

In unadjusted terms, there were 345,633 people signing on the Live Register in May.

This represents an annual decrease of 43,131 (-11.1%).

The number of male claimants decreased by 31,756 (-13.2%) to 208,658 in the year to May 2015, while female claimants decreased by 11,375 (-7.7%) to 136,975.

This compares with a decrease of 26,507 (-9.9%) to 240,414 for males while female claimants decreased by 6,466 (-4.2%) to 148,350 in the year to May 2014.