The number of people signing on the Live Register in Ennis has climbed by nearly 15 percent in the past year.
Figures throughout the rest of the county have remained relatively steady in the first month of 2021.
4,932 people were on the live register here at the end of last month – a three and a half percent increase on the same time last year.
The main reason for the jump seems to be an increasing number of people lining the dole queues in Ennis – it now stands at 2,773, compared to just over 2,400 twelve months ago.
Both North and West Clare have seen falls in the same time frame – the number of people signing on in Ennistymon has dropped by fifteen percent since this time last year, with Kilrush’s office seeing a fall of nearly ten percent in the same timeframe.
East Clare, however, paints a slightly different picture – Tulla’s queues have seen an increase of nearly seven percent since January 2020, with 631 people now signing on there.
The live register numbers don’t take into account those availing of specialised COVID-19 supports, including the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Nearly eleven thousand people are claiming the PUP in Clare as of this week – meaning nearly 16,000 people are now receiving some form of unemployment benefit in this county.
