This article is from page 10 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THE numbers signing on in Clare look set to drop below the 10,000 mark for the first time in more than 18 months should the current positive trend continue throughout June.
The number of Clare people on the Live Register has remained well above 10,000 since October of 2009, peaking at just under 11,000 in January of this year.
The last five months have seen consistent month-on-month reductions in the numbers signing on with May’s figures down to 10,286 – a reduction of almost 200 in the the April figures.
Another strong performance coupled with an increase in the numbers returning to seasonal work in the county’s tourism sector should could see the Live Register drop below 10,000 next month.
This reduction in numbers has been largely driven by positive numbers coming from North Clare with the Ennistymon area office reporting a drop of almost 15 per cent in the numbers signing on since January.
A total of 1,535 people signed on the Live Register in Ennistymon last month – down from 1,610 in April and 1,771 in January of this year.
The numbers were also down in Ennis last month where 5,842 people signed on the Live Register last month. This was just 29 people during the month and 150 people since the start of the year.
There were 1,415 people signing on in Kilrush last month, down 29 on the previous month, and 1,494 in Tulla, a reduction of five on the previous month.