The number of people signing on to the Live Register rose throughout all regions in Ireland, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed today.
The unadjusted Live Register rose from 413,505 in November to 423,595 in December, a rise of 2.4 per cent month on month.
The largest percentage increase was witnessed in the Mid-West and Mid-East regions, which both showed a rise of 3.2 per cent.
The smallest percentage increase was in the Dublin region, where the number of people signing on grew 1.8 per cent.
The growth in the number of Irish nationals signing on outstripped that of non-nationals. In December, 346,076 Irish nationals were on the Live Register, a rise of 2.8 per cent, while non-Irish
nationals accounted for 77,519, a 1 per cent rise.
Non-Irish nationals represented 18.3 per cent of all persons on the Live Register in December 2009.
In the year to December 2009, the unadjusted Live Register increased by 133,577, a rise of 46.1 per cent. More than 110,000 of this increase were Irish nationals, with non-Irish nationals accounting for 23,330.
On a regional basis, the largest increase was again seen in the Mi-East region, where an additional 50.8 per cent signed on.
The smallest rise was seen in the Midland region, where the register grew by 40,4 per cent.
During December, the largest percentage increase seen in the counties was in Leitrim, where the register increased by 4.2 per cent. Longford added the fewest amount of people to the register on a percentage basis, with the figures only rising 0.1 per cent.
According to the Quarterly National Household Survey, 279,800 people were unemployed in Ireland during the period June to September last year.
The Live Register includes part-time workers, seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance.