Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

However, I understand from the internal figures of the Department of Social and Family Affairs that the end of February figure will show almost no change compared to January. This compares with an increase in February last year of more than 26,000. The live register normally increases in February, so these figures suggest a modest decrease on a seasonally adjusted basis. While unemployment remains at a high level, these figures confirm that the situation is stabilising.

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