Figures for the total number of job losses announced by companies located in County Donegal are not available. However, according to the latest quarterly national household survey published by the Central Statistics Office on 7 December 2004, the number of unemployed persons in the Border area for the quarter to August 2004 was 12,200. This figure represents an unemployment rate of 5.9% an improvement on the August, 2003 rate of 6.3%.
The Donegal live register rate decreased by 8.41% between November 2003 and November 2004, down from 9,923 to 9,088. Although the live register is not a true record of the level of unemployment, as it includes people who are not available for work, it is a useful indicator of current employment trends. These statistics indicate that the actions being taken by the industrial development agencies are impacting positively on Donegal and the Border region in general.