The number of people on the Live Register is Clare has fallen to it’s lowest level since the onset of the pandemic.
Around 5,800 people are currently claiming some form of unemployment benefit here, but nearly 12,000 additional people are still receiving some form of income support from the State, under schemes introduced as part of the COVID-19 response.
There were 5,809 people on the Live Register in Clare at the end of August, according to the latest statistics from the CSO.
That’s a drop of 5%, compared to July’s figures and the lowest level since March.
This fall was reflected across all areas in the county, with areas attached to the Ennis Social Welfare office seeing the largest decrease of 143.
81 people also left the dole queues in East Clare over the past month, with numbers down by 62 and 33 in North and West Clare respectively.
These figures only show part of the picture, however.
Nearly 7,000 more people in Clare are still in receipt of the temporary wage support scheme, though that number fell by around 1,000 in August and the scheme has since been replaced by an updated model.
A further 4,800 people are receiving the pandemic unemployment payment here, but that number fell by around 1,100 last month.
It means that a total of 17,667 people are now receiving some form of government support.
