Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people on the Live Register for more than a year jumped by more than 55% in the year to October.
The CSO said that in October, 87,414 people had been signing on for more than a year, up 55.7% from the same month last year. More than half of this increase had taken place since April, said the CSO.
The CSO said all age groups showed an increase in the number of long-term claimants in the six months from April to October, with the biggest rise of 53% coming among the under 20s.
The figures gave more details of October's Live Register, which showed that there were a total of 412,407 people signing on.
Increase in loans pulls FDI figure lower
Official figures show that the total amount of foreign direct investment in Ireland in 2008 fell to just under €121 billion.
This compared with more than €138 billion in 2007. The CSO said the fall was mainly due to a significant increase in the amount of money lent by foreign-owned companies in Ireland to their affiliate companies abroad.
In contrast, the amount of Irish direct investment in other countries rose from just under €102 billion in 2007 to €123.4 billion last year. Investment in European businesses rose by 22%, with most of the growth in the UK and Luxembourg.
