Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I understand from Department of Social Protection internal figures that the end of October figures will show a fall of more than 12,800 since September with a headline figure of 429,550. On a seasonally adjusted basis the live register is expected to fall by 6,600 in the month. This reflects the fact that the decrease is higher than normally expected in October; it is the second highest fall ever for the month of October. The standardised unemployment rate will be published by the CSO at 11 a.m. and, on the basis of the Department of Social Protection estimates, it will be 13.6%.

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