Jobless figure rises to 756

Friday 13th February 2004, 12:00AM GMT.

THE number of people out of work has risen 12 per cent since the end of December which means it has more than tripled in the past year.

The number has risen from 226 in January 2003 to 756 at the end of last month.Employment and Social Security believe the reason behind the increase is not mass redundancy, but raised awareness of the need to register when out of work.Employment and Social Security Committee president Senator Paul Routier said that the figures needed to be taken in perspective.

‘There is no doubt that our efforts to encourage registration have affected these figures,’ he said.

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