On September 8th 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for August 2023. There were 186,396 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 10,729 people on the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 48% of the Live Register and young people, aged under 25 years, account for 11%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year decreased by 6.7% to 120,249 people – representing 64.5% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 49% and young people for 14% of this part of the register.
66,147 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a decrease of 2,123 people in comparison to August 2022. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 45% and young people 6.5%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 52% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years. Women account for 41% of this group and young people 3%.
In Table A1 information is provided on the number of people ‘availing of Activation Programmes’. These figures always lag a month behind, and so in July 2023 there were 31,951 participants, 281 fewer people than July 2022.
The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 5,485: an increase of 11.8% over the year. The numbers of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 16% to 4,211, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 22% to 1,023 participants. However, the numbers of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 43% to 251 in July 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased by 3% to 26,466. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,748 participants in July 2023, a 0.46% decrease over the year. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,520 participants, a decrease of 13% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,135 participants, a decrease of 12.6% over the year.
Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 390 participants in July 2022 to 765 participants in July 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 29% over the year to 82 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance dropped by 35% to 216 participants.