New figures from the Central Statistics Office reveal that the seasonally adjusted Live Register total rose from 156,300 in June to 158,900 in July - an increase of 2,600. This compares with a decrease of 400 in June.
The CSO says that in the year to July 2005, there was an unadjusted decrease of 8,992 - down 5.1%. This compares with an unadjusted decrease of 9,652 in the year to June 2005, a fall of 5.7%.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in July from 4.2% the previous month, the CSO said.
The CSO figures said the unadjusted monthly increase of 9,209 on the Live Register in July reflected increases in all regions. The largest percentage increase was in the Midlands (up 7%) and the smallest percentage increase was in the South-East (up 4.8%).
The largest percentage increases were in Offaly (up 9%) and in Cavan (up 7.6%). The smallest percentage increases were in Tipperary South (up 2.2%) and Kerry (up 4.1%).
Davy Stockbrokers said it was not concerned about the rise, despite noting that the total had climbed by 5,000 or 2.7% since April. A note said Davy expected the Live Register numbers to remain stable in the 155,000-160,000 range which has been the trend so far this year.
