On January 11th 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for December 2023. There were 173,003 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 11,639 people on 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 10%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year decreased by 10% to 110,708 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 13% of this part of the register. 62,295 people were on the Live Register for more than a year: a 1% increase on December 2022. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 43.5% and young people 6%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 49.3% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years. Women account for 39% 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 November 2023 there were 38,842 participants, an increase of 4% over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 12,166: an increase of 15.5% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 34% to 6,922, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 9% to 1,962 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 8% to 3,282 in November 2023.
The number of people participating on employment programmes decreased slightly to 26,676. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 18,836 participants in November 2023 - 271 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,515 participants, a decrease of 8% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 2,060 participants, a decrease of 12% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 498 participants in November 2022 to 906 participants in November 2023. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 17% over the year to 90 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance dropped by 7% to 269 participants.