There has been a drop in the number of people signing on the Live Register.

The monthly fall of 4,800, or 1.5%, for January brings the seasonally adjusted total of those signing on to 323,200, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The number represents a drop of 36,870 from the same month last year.

The Live Register showa a monthly decrease of 3,500, or 1.8%, for men in January 2016, while the number of women on the Live Register went down by 1,200, or 0.9%, over the same period.

On Tuesday, the CSO published unemployment figures, which are separate to the Live Register - and showed a fall in those out of work with the unemployment rate at 8.6%.

The Live Register includes part-time workers (those who work up to three days a week), seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) or Jobseeker’s Allowance.