THE NUMBER of people on the Live Register fell by 2,000 in August, new figures from the Central Statistics Office have shown.

Seasonally adjusted figures show that 434,400 people were signing on last month, a figure which was unchanged on the same time from last year.

The proportion of long-term claimants – those who have been on the register for 12 months or more – continues to grow, however, accounting for 44.2 per cent of the total. That figure stood at 40.8 per cent a year ago.

36,706 of those on the register now joined it within the last month, of which roughly five-in-nine were male. About two-thirds of the number which left the register in August are female, though male claimants still make up just under 63 per cent of the entire number signing on.

Despite the fall in August, the standardised rate of unemployment remains at 14.7 per cent.

The number of under 25s on the register has fallen by 9.5 per cent in the last year, with people of that age group now accounting for 17.6 per cent of all claimants.

Today’s figures mark the 26th month in succession in which the year-on-year figure of under 25s on the register has fallen.

When seasonal adjustments are removed, 456,256 people were on the register in August – down by just over 4,000 from July, a figure the CSO deems to be statistically insignificant.

The Live Register is not a measure of unemployment, as it also includes those who are entitled to partial benefits because they have only casual or part-time work. Last month the register included 87,154 casual or part-time workers, representing 19.1 per cent of the total.

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