The majority of those on the live register in Dublin last month were males over the age of 25. According to data released by the Central Statistics Office, 26 per cent of the 152,871 individuals signing on are based in the capital. Of these 39,435 Dubliners, more than 20,000 are males over 25.

The Border counties and south-west also show a relatively high percentage of people on the live register, at 16 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

In May last year, there were 192,230 people signing on to the live register. The CSO's May 2000 statistics show a reduction of more than 20 per cent in the number of registered unemployed compared to the same month last year.