On 4th April, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for April 2025. There were 170,500 people on the Live Register (seasonally adjusted), a decrease of 3,500 people from the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 43% of the Live Register and young people, aged under 25 years, account for 11.2%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year has increased by 3.8% to 112,528 people and account for 67% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 47.7% and young people for 13.2% of this part of the register.
55,432 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 9.2% on April 2024. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 41.3% and young people 6.9%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 46.8% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years.
Activation Programmes - March
In March 2025 there were 36,759 participants in activation programmes, a decrease of 1.6% since March 2024.
Education and Training
The number of people participating in education and training programmes was 10,328, a decrease of 9.6% compared to March 2024. The number of people participating in SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People has seen a major decrease of 13.3% to 5,663 people. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 22.2% to 1,427 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance increased by 5.6% to 3,238 in March 2025.
Employment Programmes
The number of people participating in employment programmes decreased by 1.4% to 26,431.
Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,614 participants in March 2025 – 497 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,365 participants, a similar figure to March 2024. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,898 participants, a drop of 2.4% over the year.
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) has 202 participants, an increase of 30 from March 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) is stable at 84 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance has also stayed at similar levels, with 268 people participating in March 2025.