Updated 12.02pm

THE NUMBER OF people unemployed has fallen to 382,800, down 3,400 from last month.

Stats published today by the CSO gives Ireland an unemployment rate of 11.5%, down 0.1%.

However, unadjusted figures show a 5,702 increase in the number of people on the Live Register.

While overall the number of long-term claimants decreased by 4.5%, the number of female claimants in this category rose by 3.2%.

July saw both southwest and west regions perform strongly.

While not all regions saw a fall in unemployment compared to last month, there was a decrease in every area compared to the same period last year.

This was weakest in the Border, Midland, and Western region, which saw a decease of 2,467.

Figures for June show that all Back to Work schemes saw a small increase in the number of claimants, with JobBridge falling by 195 to 6,782, but a year-on-year increase of almost 850.

Minister of State for Employment, Community and Social Supports Kevin Humphreys noted that this is the 25th consecutive month the Live Register has fallen.

“The majority of people on the Live Register have a strong financial incentive to work,” he said, “I will work with the Tánaiste to continue the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work strategy which are getting jobseekers back to work, building a better quality life for them and building a stable and prosperous society for all.”

Originally published 11.44am

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