Number on live register in decline

THE number of people on the local Live Register reached a record low last month after a marginal decrease in the number of people signing on.

The latest statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed there were 3,629 people in receipt of unemployment benefits in January.

This was a marginal 0.7% fall in the numbers signing on, or a total of 27 people no longer claiming, but still brought the figures back to what they were before the economic crash in 2008.

Although not used as an employment indicator, the Live Register does paint a picture of how many people are in full time employment, and how many are claiming supports while they are not working.

The number on the live register has fallen dramatically since the end of the economic crash, and indeed over the last year, has dropped by over 9% in Dundalk, where it stood at 4,000 in January 2018.

The employment picture in Louth as a whole has continued to improve over the last few years, with recorded live register figures for last month showing there were 7,941 people in receipt of unemployment benefits.

While this remains higher than the total numbwer who were signed on in the county last November, year-on-year it is down 11.9% from 9,016 in January 2018.

In the rest of the county, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits also fell, with the figures for Ardee dropping back by 4% last month from 877 to 842.

There was a slightly contrasting picture in Drogheda where the numbers on the live register went up by 0.3% from 3,459 to 3,470 in the first month of 2019.