The final live register figures for 2013 are due out this week, and analysts are predicting a monthly decline of 2,200 in the numbers signing on for December.

The seasonally-adjusted live register fell 3,400 to 406,200 in November, its lowest total since June 2009, and the seventeenth monthly decrease in a row.

Key indicator
The unemployment rate fell to 12.5 per cent in November from 12.6 per cent in October and is expected to end 2013 at 12.4 per cent according to Merrion economist Alan McQuaid.

“The unemployment rate is still the key indicator as far as the economy is concerned. It looks like it will end 2013 at 12.4 per cent and average 13.2 per cent for the year as a whole, down from 14.7 per cent in 2012 and 14.6 per cent in 2011,” he said.

Having peaked at 15.1 per cent in February 2012, the unemployment rate has declined steadily since then, a sign that the labour market is on the road to recovery, though the jobless rate remains a lot higher than desirable.

As regards the live register total in December, the stockbroking firm is forecasting a monthly fall of 2,200 to 404,000.

Online jobs marketplace
Meanwhile, Jobs Ireland last week said it had advertised more than 101,000 jobs in the 11 months to the end of November 2013.

The online jobs marketplace, which is provided by the Department of Social Protection, allows employers to advertise posts on www.jobsireland.ie and provides job-ready candidates to help employers fill vacancies.