On February 2nd 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for January 2024. There were 177,264 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 6,916 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 114,753 people – representing 65% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 13.5% of this part of the register. 62,511 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a 2.5% increase on January 2023. 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, 48.7% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years. Women account for 39.5% 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 December 2023 there were 37,795 participants, an increase of 2% over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 11,062: an increase of 8% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 19% to 5,786, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 9% to 1,959 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 8% to 3,317 in December 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased slightly to 26,733. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,821 participants in December 2023 - 189 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,580 participants, a decrease of 8% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,044 participants, a decrease of 12% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 524 participants in December 2022 to 932 participants in December 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 19% over the year to 91 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 13% to 265 participants.