All Clare social welfare offices bar one saw a reduction in the number of people collecting payments last month.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show fewer residents of the county collected social welfare payments in January than in December.
The CSO’s Live Register shows the number of people under 65 collecting Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit nationwide.
A total of 3,887 people in Clare appeared on the Live Register in January, indicating a slight drop from 3,941 in December.
Ennis had the longest dole queues in Clare with 1,992 people signing on there, accounting for 51% of the total number of social welfare recipients in the county.
A marginal decrease in the number of people collecting payments was recorded in the county town however, as was the case in Kilrush and Tulla which accounted for 18% and 12% of recipients countywide, respectively.
Of those on the Live Register in Clare last month, 53% were male while 47% were female.
The figures show that while female unemployment is down 2% in Clare in the last twelve months, unemployment among men has increased by 3% in the same period.
