Irish unemployment stable at 14.8% in July

Ireland's unemployment rate stood at 14.8 percent in July, unchanged from June, official data from the bailed-out eurozone nation showed on Wednesday. "The standardised unemployment rate in July 2012 was 14.8 percent, unchanged from the latest June 2012 rate," the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in a statement. June's figure was a downward revision from an original reading of 14.9 percent. A total of 460,323 people signed on the country's Live Register in July, the CSO said. The Live Register includes part-time workers and casual staff entitled to benefits in Ireland, a country with about 4.6 million people. Ireland earlier this month said it would spend 2.25 billion euros ($2.76 billion) on creating up to 13,000 jobs and stimulating growth. Debt-laden Ireland was ravaged by the global financial crisis and received an 85-billion-euro EU-IMF rescue package in late 2010.