Figures to be published tomorrow will show the numbers drawing the dole falling below 410,000.

The Live Register figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) were briefed to Cabinet today and show a drop for the 12th month in a row.

The fall may make a minor dent in the unemployment rate, which now stands at 13.4% - a full percentage point lower than when the government took office.

The figures will be officially made public tomorrow and will show a drop of more than 26,000 in September over August. But when seasonally adjusted to take account of returns to education, the drop was 1,800.

It is also not clear how much of the deduction might be attributable to emigration. But the decrease corresponds to the estimated number of adults who leave the State every month.

408,670 people remain on the Live Register, which is a drop of more than 20,000 on a year ago.