Posted online: Jul 7th, 2010

By Lauren Harte
reporter

Dole queues in South Donegal continued their upward trend last month with an additional 2,400 people now on the Live Register compared to a year ago.
In June this year, there were a total of 22,295 claiming Jobseekers Benefit in Donegal, up from 21,391 in May and 19,866 in June 2009.
The combined total for Social Welfare Offices in Donegal Town, Ballyshannon, Killybegs and Dungloe last month now stands at 6,623 representing additional 232 recipients of benefits when compared to May.
There are now 1,365 people out of work in Donegal Town with six further people joining the list since May, while in Ballyshannon there were 47 more people on the Live Register bringing the total number there to 1,562. The largest local increase month-on-month was in Dungloe where an additional 121 people were claiming benefits resulting in a total number of 2,371 while in Killybegs the number signing on was 1,325, up by 58.
Once again it was both males and females under 25 who dominate the numbers out of work in Donegal. A total of 14,605 men are currently on the Live Register compared with 7,690 females.
There was further gloomy news in North Leitrim where the number of people claiming benefits in Manorhamiliton in June this year was 961, up from 945 on the previous month and from 858 a year ago.
Meanwhile it has emerged that 23 companies in Donegal and Leitrim have gone into liquidation so far this year.
Latest statistics from InsolvencyJournal.ie reveal that the number of insolvencies recorded in the first half of 2010 has increased by 27%, surpassing the annual total for 2008.
In all 19 businesses in Donegal and four in Leitrim went bust in the first six months of this year with the construction, services and hospitality industries being worst affected.