On November 8th, 2024, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released the Live Register figures for October 2024. There were 163,776 people on the Live Register, a decrease of 5,935 people in 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 1.7% to 106,719 people or 65% of those on the Live Register. Women account for 47% and young people for 14% of this part of the register. 57,057 people were on the Live Register for more than a year, a decrease of 7% on October 2023. Looking at this part of the Register from a gender and age perspective: women account for 42% 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 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 September 2024 there were 35,163 participants, an increase of 1.5% over the year. The number of people participating in education and training programmes was 8,118, a 2.4% decrease over the year. The number of people participating in SOLAS Full-time Training for Unemployed People decreased by 3.7% to 4,549. The number of people on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) decreased by 22.5% to 1,422 participants; and the number of people receiving the Back to Education Allowance increased by 22% to 2,147 in September 2024.
The number of people participating in employment programmes increased by 2.7% to 27,045. Community Employment remains the largest programme with 19,143 participants in September 2024 – 482 more participants than a year ago. The next biggest employment programme is TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative, with 4,419 participants, a slight increase over the year. The third largest employment programme is the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme with 1,934 participants, a drop of 18% over the year. The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) increased from 828 participants in September 2023 to 1,208 participants in September 2024. The Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJIS) fell by 23% over the year to 72 participants, while the Short-term Enterprise Allowance increased by 16% to 269 participants.