Live register figures on the way up again

The number of people signing on to the Live Register in Westmeath at the end of December was up on the figure for the end of 2009, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).As of the end of December there were 10,154 signing on in Westmeath, up from 9,996 in December 2009. The new figure represents a jump of 257 in the number signing between November and December 2010 (the figure for November was 9,897).In Mullingar, the total number of people on the Live Register increased from 4,874 (November 2010) to 4,956 at the end of last month. The majority signing on in Mullingar are males (3,226) as opposed to 1,730 females.At Castlepollard - the district which has suffered greatly from unemployment since the beginning of the recession - 1,236 people are signing on - up 30 from November 2010, and 26 over December 2009 figures. The number of men among these figures (824) is exactly double the amount of women (412).FOR MORE SEE Jan15/11 edition