On October 6th 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for September 2023. There were 174,150 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 4,905 people on the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 46% 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 4% to 111,325 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 47% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 62,825 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a decrease of 3,322 people in comparison to September 2022. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 44% and young people 6.6%. 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 40% 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 August 2023 there were 31,204 participants, 111 fewer people than August 2022. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 4,813: an increase of 11.3% over the year. The numbers of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 14% to 3,530, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 18% to 1,039 participants. However, the numbers of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 28% to 244 in August 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased by 2.2% to 26,391. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,737 participants in August 2023, a slight increase over the year. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,431 participants, a decrease of 11.6% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,118 participants, a decrease of 13.6% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 405 participants in August 2022 to 782 participants in August 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 11.5% over the year to 92 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance dropped by 27% to 231 participants.