The number of people signing on in Clare has dropped below the 5,000 mark for the first time in three months.
Latest CSO figures show that there’s been a marginal decrease of around 3% in dole queue numbers here since the end of January.
The CSO’s Live Register figures for February show that as of the end of last month, there were 4,876 people signing on across the Banner County.
That’s down from 5,045 a month previous and means the figure is below the 5,000 mark for the first time since November.
In the county town, 84 people have joined the workforce in the past month, putting the total number on the live register in Ennis at 2,489.
The drop of 47 in the North Clare area was the biggest per capita decrease across the four districts, marking a 4% decrease.
Just 13 people gained employment in West Clare last month, leaving the total on the live register there at 837, while the drop of 25 in East Clare puts the total there at 618.
The overall reduction of 169 last month roughly mirrors the same trend at this time in previous years.
