Part-time teachers signing on the register are the main reason for a 4,178 rise in unemployment in July, although the number of jobless is actually down when these seasonal factors are taken into account. When seasonally adjusted, the numbers out of work fell last month from 255,500, continuing the long-term downward trend. Since the start of the year, 8,000 people have left the live register when seasonally factors are taken into account.

The Department of Social Welfare (Social, Community and Family Affairs) welcomed yesterdays figures and said it was encouraging to see the downward trend being continued.

The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr Ahern, said educational opportunities were helping people to get off the live register. He paid tribute to people who have taken places on the Back-to-Work allowance scheme. He stated that many of them often go on to become "true entrepreneurs".

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) said the 400 drop for July "should be a major cause for concern, but is likely to be ignored".

INOU national chairman Mr Paul Billings said: "The fact that unemployment is falling so little in the middle of a boom should be of as much concern as the increases we saw during the recession."

"The Department of Finance has recently reported that over 1,000 jobs a week are being created in the Irish economy. This is leading to a decrease in the dole queue of only 100 a week. The benefits of growth are not being shared," he added.

An analysis of the figures shows that the overall decreases are most marked when dealing with male unemployment.

Since July l996 there has been a drop of 23,258 in the number of males signing on the liver register. In comparison there has only been a decrease of 6,076 in the figure for females signing on. In fact, there are 3,550 more females on the live register since last month.

A regional analysis of the figures shows that the number of people on the live register in Dublin has fallen by over 12,000 in the last year. All other regions show a drop, but these are smaller than the one recorded in Dublin.

Another significant trend in the figures is that there has been an increase in the seasonally adjusted figure for youth unemployment, which refers to all those under 25.

There are now 300 more under 25s signing on the live register than there were in June. However, unemployment among under 25s since the start of the year is down by 2,900.

According to the INOU, over half the fall in unemployment this year can be explained by an increased take up of places in the Back-to-Work allowance scheme.