Jobless figure falls by 45,000

The Government has been given some welcome good news on the jobs front when unemployment fell by 45,000 and the number of dole claimants dipped for the second month in a row.

The jobless total was 2.6 million in the quarter to March, the lowest since last summer, while the number of people claiming jobseeker's allowance last month was down by 13,700 to 1.59 million.