Ireland's unemployment rate is holding steady at 14.3 percent. But that's steadily high. the latest figures from the Irish government's Central Statistics Office show that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, 436,700 people were claiming benefits and allowances in May. This was about 7,700 fewer than in the same month last year.
The number of people signing on increased by 200 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis. This followed a similar rise in April, the Irish Times said in a report on the figures.
The number of long-term claimants - those in receipt of benefits for more than one year - increased by seven percent to 188,729 in the year to May. The number of women in the long-term category increased by 13.7 percent (6,459) in that period, and the number of men rose by 4.6 percent (5,936).
Stated the report: The data suggest that young people are continuing to emigrate or return to education, with the number of people aged under 25 claiming benefits falling by 10.3 percent in the year to May. The percentage of those aged under 25 signing on the Live Register stood at 16.8 percent at the end of May, down from 18.4 percent a year earlier and 19.6 percent in May 2010.
Foreign nationals accounted for 17.7 percent (76,783) of the number on the Live Register, a small increase from the figure recorded one year earlier which was 17.5 percent.
