The seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment as measured by the Live Register increased slightly in May, figures released by the Central Statistics office show today.
The Live Register figure decreased by 2,870 persons in May 2001 to 133,691. This is the lowest figure since November 1981 when there were 133,098 persons claiming unemployment benefit.
However after adjusting for seasonality, there was an underlying increase of 2,100 people claiming unemployment benefit in May, the CSO said.
This gives a standardised unemployment rate in May of3.7 per cent - the same as that recorded in the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) published this week. The QNHS is considered to be the more accurate measure of unemployment.
Despite this months marginal increase, the unemployment is still at a historic low. The rate of unemployment in April last year was 4.3 per cent based on the Quarterly National Household Survey.