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Tánaiste Joan Burton and Minister of State Kevin Humphreys speak to the media on the Live Register figures

The latest Live Register figures continue to highlight the progress being made in growing the economy and reducing unemployment, Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has said.

The Tánaiste was speaking together with the Minister of State with special responsibility for Employment, Community and Social Support, Kevin Humphreys , following the publication of the Live Register data by the Central Statistics Office.

The figures show that the number of people on the Live Register fell by 37,882 to 358,630 in October 2014, a reduction of 9.6% on the corresponding month last year.

The Tánaiste said:

These are once again hugely encouraging figures, showing that the Pathways to Work strategy to reduce unemployment is making significant progress. In the first 9 months of this year, over 100,000 people have left the Live Register to take up employment. Unemployment is down from a crisis peak of 15.1% to 11% now, and, critically, the pace of the reduction is accelerating.

Long-term unemployment has fallen to 170,892, a reduction of 11,509, or 6.3%, year-on-year.

The Tánaiste pointed out that with Christmas approaching, jobseekers who take up temporary work over the seasonal period can have their Jobseeker’s repayment reinstated without delay when they finish work.

Read the full press release here.