On March 8th 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for February 2024. There were 173,982 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 8,894 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 8.6% to 111,704 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 13.6% of this part of the register. 62,278 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a 2.6% increase on February 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% 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 January 2024 there were 37,537 participants, an increase of 2.2% over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 10,995: an increase of 8% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 22% to 5,800, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 5% to 1,908 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 9% to 3,287 in January 2024.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased slightly to 26,542. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,917 participants in January 2024 - 314 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,294 participants, a decrease of 11% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,024 participants, a decrease of 12% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 539 participants in January 2023 to 964 participants in January 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 16% over the year to 86 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 43% to 257 participants.