Donegal has Ireland's second-highest unemployment rate per capita

The top five counties for unemployment per capita have been revealed in new analysis - with Donegal recording 464 people signing on per 10,000 inhabitants.

Louth had the highest number of people on the Live Register per capita in December, with 496 per 10,000, followed by Donegal, and Leitrim, with 438.

At the other end of the scale, Meath was the county with the lowest unemployment rate per capita with only 170 people signing on per 10,000 inhabitants – a rate almost three times lower than neighbouring Louth.

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Kilkenny had the next lowest Live Register per capita rate with 209 per 10,000 people, followed by Cork (234) and Kildare (259).

The analysis by the National Pension Helpline revealed that eight counties had over 400 people on the Live Register per 10,000, while the average across the 26 counties was 320.

Dublin was slightly below the national average in December with 291, while Galway had almost the same rate at 289.

Counties with most people signing on per 10,000 people are Louth - 496; Donegal - 464; Leitrim - 438; Carlow - 434 and Wexford - 428

Counties with fewest people signing on per 10,000 people are Meath - 170; Kilkenny - 209; Cork - 234; Kildare - 259 and Kilkenny - 201.

The total number of people on the Live Register in December 2024 was 166,600, up by 3,200 people (2%) from November.
Some 38,289 people between the age of 25 and 34 (23.2% of the total) were signing on in December 2024.

A total of 5,302 people from the United Kingdom were on the Live Register according to CSO data, down from 5,522 at the beginning of the year.