THE INCIDENCE of foreign nationals returning home was not a dominant factor in last month’s fall in the Live Register, according to a detailed breakdown of the figures published yesterday.

The figures reveal that, in percentage terms, as many Irish nationals left the register in October as foreign nationals.

The unadjusted Live Register declined to 412,407 in October from 419,854 in September, a monthly decrease of 7,447 (-1.8 per cent). It was the first fall in unemployment benefit claimants in 2½ years.

The figures reveal a similar percentage drop among Irish and foreign nationals. In October, there were 336,103 Irish nationals and 76,304 foreign nationals on the Live Register. This is a monthly drop of 6,008 (-1.8 per cent) in Irish nationals and a decline of 1,439 (-1.9 per cent) in foreign nationals. Among foreign nationals, the largest number signing on were nationals from EU accession states (41,663).

People from outside the Republic comprised 18.5 per cent of all persons on the Register in October 2009. In the year to last month, Irish nationals on the Live Register increased by 129,810, while the annual increase for non-Irish nationals was 31,917.

The number of people signing on the Live Register fell across all regions. In geographical terms, the biggest percentage fall during October came in the west region (-3.3 per cent), while the smallest percentage decrease was in the southeast and southwest regions (-0.6 per cent). By county, the largest fall was in Galway (-6.1 per cent). The number of males and females claiming benefits dropped across the State last month.

In the year to October 2009, the unadjusted figure for those signing on rose 161,727 (+64.5 per cent). All regions showed annual increases with the largest percentage increase in the mideast region and the smallest rise in the midwest region.

Economist Alan McQuaid of Bloxhams said the figures were encouraging and suggested the jobless rate has peaked. However, he warned the data for September and October can be distorted by the reopening of schools and third-level colleges after the summer holidays.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that many graduates who couldn’t find a job have emigrated or returned to further education, though it is hard to know the exact numbers at this stage as regards the overall level of emigration or those going back to the classroom,” he said.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny this week claimed the Government’s strategy to tackle unemployment was to “switch on the tap of emigration”. Mr Kenny said that, in the year to April, more than 18,000 Irish nationals emigrated and 30,000 people from eastern Europe had gone home.