The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said that its live register figures between April and July were incorrect, meaning that the overall level of unemployment in July was 2,672 lower than previously estimated.

The error occurred, according to the CSO, because back to work allowance claimants had been wrongly classified as signing on the live register due to an error in the introduction of new computerised procedures.

The revised seasonally adjusted figures show 194,400 people on the live register in July. The revision to the figures means the drop in unemployment over the first seven months of the year was quicker than in the earlier published figures. The revised seasonally adjusted figures for the earlier months are: April (199,600); May (199,900); June (195,500).