Live Register Up In March

In the year to March 2008, there was an unadjusted increase of 42,123 ( up 27.0%). This compares with an unadjusted increase of 30,086 (up 18.9%) in the year to February.

The monthly increase in the Seasonally Adjusted series consisted of increases of 6,000 for both men and women.

The standardised unemployment rate in March now stands at 5.5%. This compares with 4.6%, the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate from the Quarterly National Household Survey.

In the month, the estimated number of casual and part-time workers on the Live Register was 10,000 men and 13,917 women.