On November 6th 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for October 2023. There were 169,933 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 9,622 people on the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 45% 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 7% to 108,719 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46.5% and young people for 13.5% of this part of the register. 61,214 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a decrease of 1,046 people in comparison to October 2022. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 43% and young people 6.5%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 51.6% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years. Women account for 39% 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 September 2023 there were 34,653 participants, 342 more people than September 2022. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 8,318: an increase of 6.6% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 14% to 4,722, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 13% to 1,836 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 13% to 1,760 in September 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased by 0.6% to 26,335. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,661 participants in September 2023, a slight increase over the year. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,393 participants, a decrease of 6% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,113 participants, a decrease of 12.5% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 437 participants in September 2022 to 828 participants in September 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 18% over the year to 94 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance dropped by 20% to 246 participants.