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Additional 1,400 people joined the live register in January

Data broadly tracks the labour market but is not a measure of unemployment

The unadjusted live register total stood at 177,264 people for January. Of these, 55 per cent were men and 68.7 per cent were Irish. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien

Colin Gleeson
Fri Feb 2 2024 - 12:52

The number of people on the live register increased by 1,400 people in January, data from the Central Statistics Office shows.

The increase, which relates to seasonally adjusted data, equates to about 0.8 per cent compared with December and brings the total number of people to 176,700.

While the live register broadly tracks the labour market, it is not a measure of unemployment as people with part-time or casual work can still be entitled to benefits.

The unadjusted live register total stood at 177,264 people for January. Of these, 55 per cent were men and 68.7 per cent were Irish.

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The 35-44 age group made up the largest number at 41,883 people or 23.6 per cent of the total.

Four counties saw an increase in the number of people on the live register in the 12 months to January. The largest increases were in counties Meath (7.5 per cent) and Laois (3.7 per cent), while counties Leitrim (2.3 per cent) and Offaly (2.1 per cent) saw more modest increases.

There were 114,753 people on the live register for less than one year, which represents just under two-thirds of the total number, as well as a decrease of 8,424 over the 12 months since January last year.

The number of people on the live register for one year or more in January was 62,511, which was 1,508 more (2.5 per cent) than a year earlier.

Included in the figures for January were 22,344 people benefiting from the European Union’s Temporary Protection Directive, a decrease of 25 people from December, 2023.

The number of jobseekers’ benefit claims increased by 3,374 (8.8 per cent) in January compared with 12 months earlier.

There were 37,795 people availing of activation programmes in December, representing an increase of 706 people (1.9 per cent) from the previous year. The programmes are targeted primarily at the long-term unemployed, at more than 12 months.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter

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