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Live Register November 2023

The seasonally adjusted Live Register fell by 0.8% to 174,100 people over the month to November 2023

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

Key Findings

  • The seasonally adjusted Live Register total for November 2023 was 174,100 people, down by 1,400 people or 0.8% from October 2023.

  • The unadjusted Live Register total stood at 169,446 people for November 2023.

  • Of the 169,446 people on the unadjusted Live Register in November 2023, 54.7% were male and 68.9% were Irish.

  • The 35-44 age group made up the largest number of those on the Live Register in November 2023 at 40,156 people or 23.7%.

  • Three counties saw an increase in the number of people on the Live Register in the 12 months to November 2023: Meath (5.0%), Leitrim (4.2%) and Sligo (0.2%). All other counties saw a decrease during this period.

  • There were 108,217 people on the Live Register for less than one year, representing a decrease of 10,986 over the 12 months since November 2022.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 December 2023) issued results from the Live Register for November 2023.

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

“The unadjusted Live Register total for November 2023 was 169,446. When seasonal effects are considered, the seasonally adjusted Live Register total for November 2023 was 174,100, or 1,400 fewer people than October 2023.

There were 22,005 people benefitting from the EU's Temporary Protection Directive included in the Live Register figures for November 2023, a rise of 65 people from October 2023.

Percentage increases in the number of people on the Live Register in the 12 months to November 2023 were recorded in Meath (5.0%), Leitrim (4.2%) and Sligo (0.2%). All other counties saw a decrease during this period - (See PxStat Table See LRM15.)

The number of people on the Live Register for one year or more in November 2023 was 61,229, which was 452 fewer people (-0.7%) than a year earlier. There were 108,217 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which represents just under two-thirds of the total number 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.

Live Register data for January to October 2023 inclusive has been revised in accordance with revised data provided by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

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 0.8% to 174,100 over the month to November 2023

Total Persons on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted
 Live Register TotalSeasonally Adjusted
November 2022180,884185,700
October 2023169,711175,500
November 2023169,446174,100
 
Change in month--1,400
Change in year-11,438-
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 November 2023 were Cavan (-15.3%), Kilkenny (-14.0%) and Kerry (-9.6%)

Figure 2 Persons on the Live Register classified by County and Sex, November 2023

The number of Jobseeker's Allowance claims decreased by 3.4% (4,219) in November 2023 compared with 12 months earlier

The number of Jobseekers Benefit claims decreased by 3,435 (8.4%) in November 2023 compared with 12 months earlier. 

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme ended in March 2022; final payments issued were in respect of the week ending Friday 25 March 2022. All PUP recipients at that stage either transferred to a Jobseeker’s scheme or had their PUP claim closed, either because they did not apply for a jobseeker’s payment or they did not have an entitlement e.g. they were in receipt of another scheme payment or were pending a decision on their jobseeker claim.

Figure 3 Persons on the Live Register classified by Social Welfare Scheme and Sex
Table 2 Total Persons on the Live Register classified by Age and Sex

The number of persons on the Live Register for one year or more in November 2023 was 61,229 - down 452 (-0.7%) from a year earlier

Figure 4 Persons on the Live Register classified by Detailed Duration
Table 3 Persons on the Live Register classified by Sex and Duration of Continuous Registration

18,020
people under the age of 25 were on the Live Register in November 2023.
This cohort accounted for 10.6% of all claimants.
Source: CSO Ireland, Live Register November 2023

Persons between the ages of 25 and 54 accounted for two-thirds of those on the Live Register in November 2023

Figure 5 Persons on the Live Register classified by Sex and Age Group
Table 4 Summary of flows on and off the Live Register

Table 5 Casual and Part-time Workers on the Live Register

Table 6 Persons on the Live Register classified by Nationality Grouping

There were 36,722 persons availing of activation programmes in October 2023, representing an increase of 357 persons (1.0%) from the previous year.

Data up to the end of October 2023 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 the Annex Table A1 – Number of persons availing of Activation Programmes table.

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

Annex Table A1 Number of Persons availing of Activation Programmes

Annex Table A2 Live Register total classified by Recipient and Non-Recipient

22,005
people benefitting from the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) included in the Live Register figures for November 2023.
Source: CSO Ireland, Live Register November 2023

Just under two-thirds of those benefitting from TPD in November 2023 were female (14,030). Just over 90% (19,932) of all recipients were over 25 years old.

Table A3 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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