Official figures issued on Tuesday show that 6,700 full-time workers were made redundant in January. Meanwhile, the January Live Register figures will be published today and are expected to show a rise of about 13,000.

Figures issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment show an increase of 62 per cent increase in redundancies on the December figures. A total of 6,699 full-time employees lost their jobs during the month, which is the equivalent of 319 job losses per working day.

The seasonally adjusted Live Register total increased from 423,400 in November to 426,700 in December 2009, an increase of 3,300, according to the CSO. In 2009 there was an unadjusted increase in the Live Register of 133,577(+46.1%). This compares with an increase of 119,642 (+70.2%) in 2008. The unemployment rate is set to peak in summer 2010.

The total fell 3,000 in October. and rose 900 in November.

In January 2009, the Live Register rose 33,000 -- the highest monthly rise -- and officially recorded redundancies were 6,566 in the same month.

The Live Register in December, included 75,000 casual and part-time workers.

“January 2010 redundancy figures show a complete absence of a government strategy to save small businesses and jobs,” commented Patricia Callan, Director of the Small Firms Association. “The Government has become complacent on the jobs front with the apparent stabilisation of the live register. However, the redundancy figures clearly show that small businesses have continued to haemorrhage jobs into 2010.”

“There is a clear need for the Government to now prioritise the restoration of cost competitiveness to the small business sector, which is the only way to sustain jobs.”