Live Register - November
On December 6th, 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for November 2024. There were 158,267 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 11,179 people in 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 5.9% to 101,825 people or 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 56,442 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 5.9% on November 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 42% and young people 6%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 46% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years.
Activation Programmes - October
In October 2024 there were 36,857 participants in activation programmes, an increase of 0.4% over the year.
Education and Training
The number of people participating in education and training programmes was 9,545 a 7.7% decrease over the year. The number of people participating in SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People decreased by 9.4% to 4,957. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 25% to 1,478 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance increased by 7.4% to 3,110 in October 2024.
Employment Programmes
The number of people participating in employment programmes increased by 2.7% to 27,312. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,339 participants in October 2024 – 590 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,444 participants, with an increase of 100 since October 2023. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,931 participants, a drop of 7.6% over the year.
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 861 participants in October 2023 to 1,270 participants in October 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) fell by 30 over the year to 65 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 8.2% to 263 participants.