On June 10th 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for May 2024. There were 168,406 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 7,210 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 11%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year decreased by 6% to 107,051 people – representing 64% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 46% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 61,355 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 3% on May 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 43% and young people 7%. Exploring the issue of duration further, 47% of the people on the Live Register for more than a year have been on it for at least three years. Women account for 40% 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 April 2024 there were 38,180 participants, an increase of 4% over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 11,416: an increase of 9% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 22% to 6,590, while the number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) increased by 4% to 1,794 participants. However, the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 9% to 3,032 in April 2024.
The number of people participating on employment programmes increased by 2% to 26,764. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,122 participants in April 2024 - 633 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,316 participants, a drop of 2.5% over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,942 participants, a decrease of 16% over the year. Amongst the smaller schemes, the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 627 participants in April 2023 to 1,070 participants in April 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 29% over the year to 78 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 17% to 236 participants.