Slight rise in jobless total

As of April, the jobless total for the borough stands at 1,728, of which the vast majority are men.

Broken down into wards, Ballee had the highest jobless total of 133 (up by four), closely followed by Dunclug with 127 (down by two). Ballykeel was third highest on 116 (down one on the previous month).

The ward with the least unemployment as of April this year was Ballyloughan on 27 (a non-mover on the number of claimants from the previous month).

Province-wide the unemployment rate has fallen. However, there has been an increase in the number of people signing on the dole, according to the figures released last week.