Ireland's unemployment rate increased to 13.4 per cent in December from 13.2 per cent in November, official data showed on Thursday, in a rise seen as temporary for the indebted Eurozone member.

November's unemployment level was lower than the initial estimate of 13.5 per cent, while the rise in December's figures comes after the Irish parliament voted last month in favour of a bailout worth €67 billion ($88 billion) by the EU and IMF.

"The increase in December can be attributed to people who are temporarily employed in the educational sector signing on over the holiday period," said Minister for Social Protection Eamon O Cuiv.

"Adverse weather conditions in December would also have affected certain sectors, such as the construction sector," he added in a statement.

The 437,079 on the country's Live Register in December was up from the November total of 425,002, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The month-on-month increase in the number signing on was 12,077.

Ireland's CSO said an extra 13,484 had signed on for benefits in the year to December.
The Live Register is not designed to be a fully accurate measure of unemployment, however, because it includes part-time workers and casual staff entitled to benefits.



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