Galway Bay fm newsroom - There's been a significant increase in unemployment across Galway amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The national unemployment rate reached 16.5 per cent in March, as hundreds of thousands of people were left without work.
The total number of people on the live register in Galway during March was 10, 241 - an increase of almost 800 people on the figure for February.
The increase - unprecedented in recent years - is due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which has devastated many sectors of the workforce.
The city was the worst affected by a considerable margain - there are now 4,945 people on the live register, an increase of some 435 people compared to February.
Further north, the number of those unemployed in Tuam rose by over 150 and now stands at 1,610.
Meanwhile, an additional 100 people joined the live register in Loughrea - with 1,112 people now unemployed in the East Galway town.
1,137 people are now also unemployed in Ballinasloe - a more marginal increase of 30 people compared to the figure for February.
There was also a slight increase in Gort - where the live register figure increased by 20 to now stand at 726.
Further west, Clifden was more sharply affected - there are now 711 unemployed in the Connemara town, compared to 664 in February.
