On July 5th 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for June 2024. There were 174,909 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 9,638 people on 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 12%.
Over the year, the number of people on the Live Register for less than one year decreased by 5% to 112,803 people or 64.5% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 48% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 62,106 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 5.6% on June 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 44% 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. 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 May 2024 there were 34,985 participants, a slight increase over the year. The number of people participating on education and training programmes was 8,126: a decrease of 3.6% over the year. The number of people participating on the SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People increased by 3.25% to 5,609. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 11% to 1,422 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance dropped by 22% to 1,095 in May 2024.
The number of people participating on employment programmes increased by 2.2% to 26,859. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,131 participants in May 2024 - 482 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,387 participants, a slight drop over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,922 participants, a decrease of 14.5% over the year. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 672 participants in May 2023 to 1,097 participants in May 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) decreased by 33% over the year to 76 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 17% to 246 participants.