Live Register falls for third straight month
The number of people on the Live Register in Westmeath has fallen for the third month in succession.According to recently released figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) the number of local people on the Live Register at the end of last month fell to 9,897. November's figure is 235 less than the previous month and the first time since December of last year that it fell below the 10,000 mark.Mullingar District Office saw the biggest reduction (146) with 4,874 signing on last month compared to 5030 in October.The number of women on the live register fell by 91 in November, while the number of men fell by 55. The biggest reduction (67) was in the female over 25 bracket.Athlone District Office saw a fall of 55 in the number of people on the Live Register last month (3817) compared to October (3862), however the figure is 55 more than the same period last year.The only area that saw a decrease (26) in the numbers signing on compared to same period last year was the Castlepollard District. In total, there were 1206 adults on the Live Register at the end of November, which is also 36 less than in October.Nationwide, the number of people on the Live Register fell by 4,200 last month.While Government figures have hailed the third straight reduction as a sign that the country's economy is stabilising, critics put the reduction down a rise in emigration and an increase in the number of the âinvisible unemployedâ. These are the people who were made redundant in 2009 and who no longer qualify for jobseeker's benefit.