The number of people signing on the Live Register fell again last month as conditions in the labour market continue to improve.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the number of claimants on the register dropped by 1,900, reducing the seasonally adjusted total to 341,400.

On an unadjusted basis, this represents an annual decrease of 39,249 or nearly 10 per cent.

Separate CSO figures, released earlier this week, puts the State’s unemployment rate 9.5 per cent, the lowest level in six years.

The number of long-term unemployed on the register - those claiming for over 12 months - in August stood at 164,269, representing 45.7 per cent of the total.

The number of long-term claimants has fallen by 23,329 or 12.4 per cent in the past year.

The CSO noted that the number of people on job activation programmes, which primarily target long-term unemployed people, stood at 67,246 in July this year, an increase of 2,630 (4.1 per cent) from the previous year.

People on activation programmes are not included in the overall Live Register numbers.

The persistent decline in the register in the past three years has been linked to improving economic conditions, rising emigration and a return to education by those previously in the labour market.

The CSO numbers show decreases in the number of claimants aged under 25 have occurred in all months since July 2010.

The percentage of people aged under 25 on the register now stands at 13.9 per cent, down from 15.4 per cent in August last year.

There were 22,497 new registrants on the Register last month, comprising 7,602 Jobseeker’s Benefit claims, 13,808 Jobseeker’s Allowance claims and 1,087 other registrants.