Live register climbs by nearly 10 per cent in Castlebar

Live register climbs by nearly 10 per cent in Castlebar


Trevor Quinn

FINE Gael Spokesperson for Social Protection Deputy Michael Ring has said that the latest live register figures from the Central Statistics office are a sign of ‘a very worrying trend’ as the numbers signing on in Castlebar rose by a sizable 9.4 per cent in the period from December 2010 to January 2011.
The figures reveal that 2,649 people signed on in the county town in January as opposed to 2,421 persons in December, a steep increase of 228 people.
Deputy Ring says he has been in discussions with local town councils and he is exploring ways in which costs can be reduced to encourage business and enterprise in the town. Deputy Ring says he is alarmed by the figures and he is concerned that rents and taxes are having a negative impact on enterprise
“Jobs, jobs, jobs are our main issue on this electoral campaign and these figures show exactly why,” said Deputy Ring.
While the rate of unemployment in Castlebar rose steadily, towns like Westport and Ballinrobe also recorded significant live register increases of 4.4 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively, bringing the numbers on the live register to 1,952 in Westport and 1,188 in Ballinrobe.
Other towns recorded marginal increases in people signing on with Ballina up 0.6 per cent to 3,258; Belmullet up 2.1 per cent and Claremorris up 1,351, while the numbers signing on in Swinford actually decreased, down 0.8 per cent.
In Mayo the total numbers signing on the live register rose 1.6 per cent from 13,251 in December 2010 to 13,468 persons in January 2011. Sixty five per cent of the claimants were men.
The number of claimants under 25 signing on in Mayo rose by 2.7 per cent to 2,542 or 19 per cent of the total live register figure for the county illustrating the harsh economic challenges facing the county’s young people.