The average unemployment rate in the euro zone, which has 11 EU members, remained at 10.3 per cent in June, 3.7 percentage points above the Republic's 6.6 per cent rate.

The EU statistics agency, Eurostat, also reported yesterday that unemployment in the 15-member EU was 9.4 per cent - or around 16.1 million people - in June, unchanged from May and down from 10 per cent in June 1998.

The increase of 5,836 people signing on the live register in July is accounted for by 31,380 new registrations and 25,544 leaving the register, according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office.