Dublin - Ireland has experienced its largest ever recorded annual jobless increase with the number of people registering for unemployment assistance going up by almost 48,000 in the last twelve months, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said Tuesday.

The jobless figures for May bring the total number of registered unemployed to 207,300, the highest level since January 1999.

The CSO said the figures show the numbers of registered unemployed have increased by almost a third in the past year. Ireland's unemployment rate is now at 5.4 per cent of the workforce.

Ireland, with a population of 4.2 million, is experiencing a slowing economy after a decade of runaway growth, with the construction sector in particular suffering a marked decline. (dpa)