Unemployment falls in July
The number of people on unemployment benefits has dropped by 3,200, official figures have revealed.
A review of the labour market showed the unemployment rate had fallen slightly from 13.6% in June to 13.5% in July.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said the number of long-term claimants stood at 197,571 in July.
The latest figures show that 419,200 claimants signed on for unemployment and job-seeking benefits during July.
That was down from 422,400 the previous month and represented a drop of 17,600 from July 2012.
At 13.5% of the nation’s entire workforce, the unemployment rate was at its lowest point in July since March 2010.
It hit its highest point of 15.1% in February 2012.
Men were largely accountable for the drop in the number of people on the Live Register.
The seasonally adjusted figures showed 2,200 fewer males signing on in July from the previous month.
There were 900 fewer women signing on.
The Live Register figures, compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), includes unemployed, some part-time workers as well as seasonal and casual workers entitled to job-seeking benefits.
Of the 197,571 long-term claimants – people who have been signing on for more than 12 months – the vast majority, 136,363, were male.
The number of male long-term claimants decreased by 5,238 from July 2012, while the number of females increased by 2,723.
This resulted in an overall annual decrease of 2,515 people claiming benefits for more than one year.
