This article is from page 8 of the 2012-01-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THE number of people signing on the Live Register in Clare broke through 10,000 mark last month, with a total of 10,368 people signing on in the county in December.
The latest figures come after two consecutive months of positive figures which had seen the Live Register figures drop below the 10,000 mark for the first time in more than two years.
The latest figures released from the Central Statistics Office show that 5,768 people were signing on in Ennis last month, while 1,671 were signing on in Ennistymon; 1,468 signing on in Kilrush; and 1,493 signing on in Tulla.
The overall figure for the county marks a year-on-year drop of 251 from the 10,619 who were signing on in the county in December of 2010.
The figures do not, however, take into account the large number of people who are expected to leave the county after the Christmas period. With large numbers set to emigrate, especially from rural communities, it is likely that any drop in the January figures would be brought about by emigration rather than by job creation.
The numbers signing on are still more than 500 people short of the all-time high in the county which was recorded in February of last year when a total of 10,883 people were signing on in the county.
The biggest month-on-month increase in the Live Register was recorded in Ennis where the numbers signing on swelled by 101 people, from 5,635 to 5,736.
The largest percentage increase, however, was recorded in Ennistymon with a jump of 80 people signing on, from 1, 597 to 1,671, amounted to a five per cent increase in just one month.
The numbers signing on in Kilrush and Tulla jumped by 59 in both locations.