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December 2020, Live Register Figures

08 January 2021 - 12:19 pm


Live-Register-image

On January 8th, 2021 the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for December, 2020. There were 189,860 people on the Live Register, an increase of 7,864 on the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 44% of the Live Register and young people account for 11%.

75,810 people were on the Register for more than a year, 8,252 more people than December, 2019. Men account for 60% of this figure, and women 40%. While 92% of those on the register for more than a year are aged 25 years and over. Looking at these figures in more detail, the age group with the highest number of people on the register for more than a year are those aged 35-44 years, followed by people aged 45-54, and then people aged 25-34 years.

In Table A3 to this release the CSO note that 168,372 people were in receipt of a payment, and 21,488 were not in December 2020: a year ago these figures were 168,137 and 13,859 respectively.

In Table A2 the CSO notes that there were 335,599 people were on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) in December, a decrease of 15,825 on November, 2020. Looking at these figures from an age perspective, young people aged under 25 years, account for 25% of PUP recipients. While from a gender perspective, women account for 49% of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. 

In Table A1 information is provided on the numbers of people ‘availing of Activation Programmes’. These figures always lag a month behind. In November 2020, there were an estimated 40,836 participants, 7,834 fewer people than the same month last year. Over the year the numbers of people participating on employment programmes decreased by 17% to 26,389.  Community Employment remains the biggest programme, with 19,350 participants. As the November data for the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People was unavailable, the CSO used the October data, so the numbers of people participating on education and training programmes are estimated to be 14,447, a decrease of 15% over the year.