Slight drop in people signing on

There was a slight drop in the number of people in Offaly signing on the Live Register during October, compared to September, the latest figures from the CSO have revealed. However, while the overall figures are on the slide, there was an increase in the number of women aged 25 and over signing on during October. Countywide, some 8,852 people signed on during October, made up of 5,842 males and 3,010 females. This was a drop of 0.76% on September, when 8,920 people signed on the Live Register. Edenderry saw the biggest percentage drop during the month of October, dropping by 1.5% from 2,441 in September to 2,403 in October. In Tullamore the number signing on dropped by 0.53% from 4,136 in September to 4,114 last month. However, the Live Register in the Fateful County saw an increase in the number of women aged 25 and over signing on. Across the county there were 2,308 women in this age category signing on in October, an increase of 2.76% on the September figure of 2,246. In Birr there were 642 women aged 25 or over signing on, an increase of 3.2% on the September figure of 622, while in Edenderry there was a 0.8% increase from the September figure of 590 to 595 in October and in Tullamore there was an increase of 3.57% from 1,034 in September to 1,071 in October. Men aged 25 or over made up the biggest number of those signing on in Offaly in October, making up 4,661 of the 8,852 people signing on. However, this figure represented a 1.8% decrease on the September figure for men in this age category, which stood at 4,746. Some 1,181 men aged under 25 signed on in October across the county, while females in this age category made up 702 of those signing on. Nationwide, there was a monthly decrease of 6,600, with the Live Register now standing at 429,553.