Almost 1.7 million people are now working in the Republic, representing an annual increase of over 100,000, according to the latest quarterly national household survey published yesterday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). It shows that for the June-August quarter there was a labour force of 1,770,300, of which 1,669,200 were working. This represents an increase of 78,100 on the previous quarter and an increase of almost 110,000 on the same period in 1998, due mainly to school-leavers and students taking up employment.

More than 27 per cent of students, or 92,000, took jobs during the summer, an increase of over 23,000 year on year.

The unemployment rate remained at 5.7 per cent in the June-August quarter, reflecting both an increase in the number of people working and the number unemployed.

But the long-term unemployment rate has been falling steadily and now stands at 2.1 per cent. In the March-May quarter it was 2.5 per cent and last year it was 3.7 per cent.

The labour force has expanded by 81,700 in the year, from 1,688,600 to 1,770,300, and the Republic now has a labour force participation rate - the number of people in the labour force as a percentage of the total population aged over 15 - of 60.5 per cent, compared to 57.9 per cent in the previous quarter and 58.5 per cent in the third quarter of last year.

In particular, the participation rates of 15- to 19-year-olds has increased from 36.6 per cent to 41.9 per cent. Year on year, there has also been a 4.5 percentage points increase to 34 per cent in the numbers of 55-59 year-old women working. The total female participation rate is now 44 per cent, compared to the EU average of 46 per cent.

The survey also reveals that the average working week was 38.5 hours, half an hour less than in the same quarter of 1998. While the number of unemployed people has actually increased by 4,200 to 101,100 when compared to the second quarter, this is due to a seasonal rise of 9,800 in the number of people aged under 25 coming on to the labour market in summer but not getting work immediately.

The survey, based on household visits by enumerators, is regarded as providing a more accurate picture of unemployment than Live Register figures, which also include part-time and casual workers who qualify for social welfare. Regionally, it shows that the Dublin area has the lowest unemployment rate (4.5 per cent), followed by the west (4.7 per cent) and the mid-east (Kildare, Meath, Wicklow), with a 4.9 per cent rate.

The highest regional unemployment is in the Border counties, where the rate is 8.6 per cent, followed by the south-east, where 7.9 per cent of the workforce is unemployed.