On December 8th 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for November 2023. There were 169,446 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 11,438 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 9% to 108,217 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 13% of this part of the register. 61,229 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a decrease of 452 people in comparison to November 2022. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 43% and young people 6%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 50.6% 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 October 2023 there were 36,722 participants, 357 more people than October 2022. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 10,341: an increase of 6% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 15% to 5,471, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 11% to 1,973 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 10% to 2,897 in October 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased by 0.9% to 26,381. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,749 participants in October 2023, with 164 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,344 participants, a decrease of 9% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,089 participants, a decrease of 11% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 469 participants in October 2022 to 861 participants in October 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 22% over the year to 95 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance dropped by 17% to 243 participants.