New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people on the Live Register fell by 1,100 from 157,700 in November to 156,600 in December. This compares with a rise of 1,100 in November.
The CSO figures show that in the year to December, there was an unadjusted decrease of 2,983 (down 1.9%) on the Live Register. This compares with an unadjusted decrease of 1,893 (1.2%) in the year to November 2005.
The CSO said the standardised unemployment rate in December was 4.3%, unchanged from the previous month.
The figures also reveal that there was an unadjusted monthly increase of 5,760 (a rise of 3.8%) on the Live Register in December, which reflected increases in all regions. The largest percentage increase was in the Mid-West region, which saw a rise of 1.5%.
Amongst counties, the largest percentage increases were in Tipperary North (up 9%) and Kilkenny (up 6.7%). The smallest increases were in Cavan (1.2%) and in Monaghan (2.4%).
Davy Stockbrokers said the Live Register appeared to have stabilised, and now seemed to be at a level which signifies full employment.
'The Live Register bottomed at 137,000 at the peak of the last boom but the labour force has increased 14% since then, so we expect the natural floor for unemployment benefit claimants to be a little higher now,' its note said.
