This article is from page 12 of the 2011-04-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE number of people signing on the unemployment register in Clare fell for the second month in a row last month – but March still represents the fifth highest Live Register figures in the history of the county.
A total of 10,623 people were on the Live Register in Clare last month – a drop of 189 people on the February figures. The latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the number on the Live Register in Clare shrank by 260 peo- ple or 2.3 per cent since the highest figures on record were recorded in January of this year.
However, it is still unclear whether the drop in Live Register numbers since its all time high in January is the result of an increase in employment or an increase in the number of Clare people who have been forced to emigrate in search of employment abroad.
The standard seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the county remained at 14.7 per cent of the workforce in March.
This latest decrease in the numbers signing on was largely down to a sizable decrease in the numbers signing on in East Clare with the Tulla regional office recording 1,517 people on the Live Register last month – an overall drop of 51 people or 3.2 per cent in just a month.
A similar decrease was recorded in Ennistymon when there were 1,697 people signing on – down 50 people from the 1,747 who signed on in February of 2011 or a drop of 2.8 per cent.
A large decrease was also recorded in Kilrush where 1,458 people signed on the Live Register in March – 43 fewer people or a drop of 2.8 per cent on the February figures.
The news was not as positive in Ennis last month with the county town lagging behind the rest of the county in terms of reductions in the Live Register figures.
The official figures for March showed that 5,998 people signed on in Ennis last month. This represents a month on month drop of 47 people or 0.7 per cent in the numbers signing on in the county town.