On the 9th June, 2025, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for May 2025. There were 165,700 people on the Live Register (seasonally adjusted), a decrease of 6,700 people from the same month last year. Looking at the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 44.7% of the Live Register and young people, aged under 25 years, account for 11.7%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year has decreased by 0.5% to 106,488 people and account for 65.6% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 45.4% and young people for 14.1% of this part of the register.
55,781 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 9.1% on May 2024. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 41.2% and young people 7.3%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 47.2% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years.
Activation Programmes - April
In April 2025 there were 36,455 participants in activation programmes, a decrease of 2.2% since April 2024.
Education and Training
The number of people participating in education and training programmes was 9,906, a decrease of 13.2% compared to April 2024. The number of people participating in SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People has seen a major decrease of 17.8% to 5,414 people. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 21.2% to 1,413 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance increased by 1.6% to 4,492 in April 2025.
Employment Programmes
The number of people participating in employment programmes increased by 2.6% to 26,549.
Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,631 participants in April 2025 – 509 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,415 participants, a similar figure to April 2024. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,878 participants, a drop of 3.3% over the year.
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) has 239 participants, an increase of 58 people from April 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) increased to 91 participants from 78, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance has also increased, with 295 people participating in April 2025.