On August 2nd 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for July 2024. There were 185,968 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 8,818 people on the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 49% of the Live Register and young people, aged under 25 years, account for 12%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year decreased by 3.7% to 122,109 people or 66% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 50.4% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 63,859 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 6% on July 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 45% and young people 7%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 44.5% 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 June 2024 there were 33,372 participants, an increase of 1.6% over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 6,312, a slight decrease over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 5.5% to 5,144. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 8% to 961 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 20% to 207 in June 2024.
The number of people participating on employment programmes increased by 2% to 27,060. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,208 participants in June 2024 - 472 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,464 participants, a decrease of 1.7% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,916 participants, a drop of 13% over the year. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 712 participants in June 2023 to 1,127 participants in June 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 27% over the year to 78 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 24% to 267 participants.