The number of people claiming unemployment benefits fell by almost 9,000 in the last six months, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office released today.
According to the Live Register, 149,269 people are signing on, a drop of 8,795. This includes a decrease of 9,748 in short-term claimants and an increase of 953 in people signing on for a year or more.
There are 88,682 men on the register, 31,632 of them claiming for more than a year, and 60,587 women signing on - 13,912 for over a year.
Those aged 45-54 made up just under 25 per cent of people claiming for over a year while those aged under 20 made up only 2.2 per cent of people on long-term benefits.
Of all persons making claims for under a year, the largest percentage was among the 25-34 age group - 27.8 per cent. Those aged 60-64 had the lowest percentage, 5.2 per cent.
The Live Register is not a measure of unemployment. It includes part-time workers in work three days a week and seasonal and casual workers entitled to Unemployment Assistance or Benefit.
Unemployment is measured by the Quarterly National Household Survey, and the latest figure for March to May 2006 is 91,400 persons unemployed.