Live Register - December
On 10th January, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for December 2024. There were 166,600 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 7,900 people in the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 46% 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 2% to 108,451 people or 65% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 47% and young people for 13% of this part of the register.
56,355 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 9.5% on December 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 42% and young people 7%. 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 - November
In November 2024 there were 37,126 participants in activation programmes, a decrease of 4.4% since November 2023.
Education and Training
The number of people participating in education and training programmes was 10,836, 0.7% decrease over the year. The number of people participating in SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People has seen a major decrease of 34% to 4,561 people. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 23% to 1,510 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance increased by 5.6% to 3,467 in November 2024.
Employment Programmes
The number of people participating in employment programmes increased by 3.4% to 27,588. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,529 participants in November 2024 – 693 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,483 participants, with a decrease of 32 since November 2023. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,933 participants, a drop of 6.1% over the year.
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 906 participants in November 2023 to 1,305 participants in November 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) fell by 19 over the year to 71 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance has stayed at similar levels, with 267 people participating in November 2024.