The number of people made redundant last month fell by almost 10 per cent to 1,965, according to the latest figures from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

However, the total number of redundancies reported to the department so far in 2007 - at 10,725 - remains 8.1 per cent ahead of the figure at the same time last year.

Building, manufacturing and engineering sectors were among the worst affected in May, with 957 workers laid off, accounting for close to half of all redundancies reported in the month.

The statistics also show that a total of 75 employees in the banking, financial and insurance sectors lost their jobs during the month, bringing the total job cuts in this area to 434 so far this year.

Once again, male workers made up the vast majority of those laid off last month. Some 1,178 men lost their jobs, representing almost 60 per cent of all redundancies.

The number of part-time employees let go came to 207.

The department's statistics show that a total of 6,501 male workers have been made redundant so far this year, compared to 4,224 women.

However, these figures only take into account redundancies which have already occurred and have been reported to the department, and they do not reflect job cuts which have been announced recently.

Eircom revealed this week that up to 400 employees are likely to be made redundant over the coming year.