THE NUMBERS at work in the Irish economy in the first quarter of 2011 were almost 10,000 lower than in the final quarter of 2010, according to figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office.

This was the smallest (seasonally adjusted) quarterly decline in employment since the total number of jobs in the economy began falling three years ago.

Despite the fall in job numbers, which typically results in an increase in unemployment, the jobless numbers actually fell in the first months of 2011.

Seasonally adjusted, almost 22,000 fewer people were unemployed compared to the period three months earlier.

The percentage of the labour force out of work fell to 14 per cent, down from 14.8 per cent in the final quarter of 2010.

Just under 300,000 people are formally classified as unemployed by this internationally standardised measure.

It differs from the monthly Live Register figures, which measure the numbers claiming unemployment benefit. In May, almost 450,000 were on the Live Register.

Much of the decline in unemployment was accounted for by the differences in the way the CSO adjusts the components of the figures for seasonal factors.

Also relevant was the number of people leaving the workforce entirely, including those who return to education, emigrate or simply give up seeking work. Unusually, the decline in the workforce exceeded the decline in employment. This may be explained by high emigration levels.

The intractability of the employment crisis was also to be seen in the continued trend towards an ever-higher proportion of the jobless being classified as long-term unemployed.

In the first quarter of the year more than 55 per cent of the almost 300,000 people out of work had been jobless for a year or more. Just two years ago, only one in five of the jobless had been without work for 12 months or more.

Geographically, rates of unemployment differ considerably across the country.

The highest rate in the first quarter of the year was recorded in the southeast, where unemployment stood at 17.2 per cent of the workforce. Of eight regions, Dublin had the lowest rate of joblessness, at 12.5 per cent.

A second set of CSO figures on earnings and labour costs showed that average weekly earnings fell by 3.6 per cent in the first three months of the year compared to the final three months of 2010.

Average weekly earnings stood at €674.56 in the first quarter of the year. Two years earlier they were €709.55.

Of the 13 occupational categories, average weekly earnings were highest in information and communications in the first quarter, standing at €990.47. They were lowest in the accommodation and food services sector, at just €288.62.

Weekly earnings in the public sector stood at €871.09 in the first quarter of the year. In the private sector, the figure was €602.85.

A third set of figures released by the CSO yesterday showed the prices that businesses pay to other businesses for services fell in the first quarter of 2011.

They are now at their lowest level in five years and almost 10 per cent down from their peak three years ago.

Of the 12 services subsectors covered in the survey, seven registered quarter-on-quarter price declines in the first three months of the year and five registered increases.

The largest price declines since the last quarter of 2010 were in employment and human resources activities. In this sector, prices fell by more than 6 per cent in just three months. The biggest increases in services prices for business were in transportation, reflecting higher energy prices.