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Live Register March 2025

The seasonally adjusted Live Register fell by 1.0% to 162,900 people over the month to March 2025

Online ISSN: 200-535X
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Key Findings

  • The seasonally adjusted Live Register total for March 2025 was 162,900 people, down by 1,600 people or 1.0% from February 2025.

  • The unadjusted Live Register total stood at 159,866 people for March 2025, of which 56.1% were male and 71.3% were Irish.

  • The 25-34 years age group made up the largest number of those on the Live Register in March 2025 at 37,536 people or 23.5% of the total.

  • All counties recorded a decrease in numbers on the Live Register in the twelve months to March 2025. The largest percentage decrease was in Clare, down 876 people (-19.1%) from March 2024.

  • In March 2025 there were 103,969 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which was 7,494 fewer people (-6.7%) than March 2024.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (04 April 2025) published results from the Live Register for March 2025.

Commenting on today’s release, Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said:

“The unadjusted Live Register total for March 2025 was 159,866. When seasonal effects are considered, the seasonally adjusted Live Register total for March 2025 was 162,900 or 1,600 fewer people than February 2025.

There were 12,776 people benefitting from the EU's Temporary Protection Directive included in the Live Register figures for March 2025, a decrease of 299 people from February 2025.

All counties recorded a decrease in numbers on the Live Register in the twelve months to March 2025. The largest percentage decrease was in Clare, down 876 people (-19.1%) from March 2024 - (See PxStat Table LRM15).

The number of people on the Live Register for one year or more in March 2025 was 55,897, which was 6,036 fewer people (-9.7%) than a year earlier. There were 103,969 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which was 65.0% of the total number of people on the Live Register.”

Editor's Note

People arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) can access a wide range of Department of Social Protection (DSP) supports. The majority of new applications for income support from people of working age are being processed as Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) claims until the most appropriate income support for that person is identified. This facilitates access to existing part-time work supports where appropriate. If a person is on JA for 20* claim paid days or more, they are counted on the Live Register.

*Before October 2022, persons availing of TPD were included in the Live Register when they had been in receipt of JA for 50 days or more.

From 9 September 2024 beneficiaries of EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) living in Designated Accommodation Centres no longer qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance and thus are no longer enumerated on the Live Register – see Background Notes.

Data in this release are subject to revision based on updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added, such revisions are typically very minor in scale. It should be noted that larger revisions can occur when the comprehensive annual review of the seasonal adjustment model is carried out in January of each year. See background notes for further details.

The seasonally adjusted Live Register decreased by 1.0% to 162,900 over the month to March 2025

Total Persons on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted
 Live Register TotalSeasonally Adjusted
March 2024173,396174,500
February 2025165,307164,500
March 2025159,866162,900
 
Change in month..-1,600
Change in year-13,530..
Figure 1 Live Register Seasonally Adjusted
Table 1 Total Persons on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted

The counties that saw the largest percentage decrease in the number of persons on the Live Register in the 12 months to March 2025 were Clare (-19.1%), Kerry (-17.1%) and Donegal (-14.9%)

Map 1 Persons on the Live Register classified by County and Sex, March 2025

The number of Jobseeker's Allowance claims decreased by 9.0% (-10,820) in March 2025 compared with 12 months earlier

The number of Jobseeker’s Benefit claims decreased by 2.1% (-860) in March 2025 compared with 12 months earlier.

Figure 2 Persons on the Live Register classified by Social Welfare Scheme and Sex

The number of persons on the Live Register for one year or more in March 2025 was 55,897 - down 6,036 (-9.7%) from a year earlier

Figure 3 Persons on the Live Register classified by Detailed Duration
18,362
people under the age of 25 were on the Live Register in March 2025.
This cohort accounted for 11.5% of all claimants.
Source: CSO Ireland, Live Register March 2025

Persons between the ages of 25 and 54 accounted for two-thirds of those on the Live Register in March 2025

Figure 4 Persons on the Live Register classified by Sex and Age Group, March 2025
Table 2 Total persons on the Live Register classified by Duration of Continuous Registration

Table 3 Summary of flows on and off the Live Register

There were 36,558 persons availing of activation programmes in February 2025, representing a decrease of 544 persons (-1.5%) from the previous year

Data up to the end of February 2025 on the number of persons availing of a range of programmes targeted primarily at the long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and other welfare recipients is provided in PxStat table LRM14.

Persons on activation programmes are not counted as part of the monthly Live Register.

12,776
people benefitting from the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) included in the Live Register figures for March 2025.
Source: CSO Ireland, Live Register March 2025

63.6% of those benefitting from TPD in March 2025 were female (8,130). 89.7% (11,459) of all recipients were over 25 years old

Table 4 Persons on the Live Register classified by Nationality Grouping

Table 5 Total persons benefitting from the Temporary Protection Directive (Ukraine)

Additional Live Register Information

Detailed tables relating to the monthly estimates of the number of persons on Live Register classified by NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions are included in the CSO Main Data Dissemination Service LRM17 on PxStat.

Table LRM13 on PxStat includes the Live Register occupational data which is sourced from information collected by the DSP on the most recent occupation of claimants when they sign on the Live Register.

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