Number signing on to live register rises marginally in July

There was a small rise in the number of people signing on the live register in July, with an additional 200 people recorded, an increase of 0.1 per cent on June figures.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Friday show that the unadjusted live register total for July 2023 was 195,095 people, while the seasonally adjusted figures show that 183,500 people claimed benefits last month, up from 183,300 in June.

A total of 23,277 people who arrived into Ireland from Ukraine were on the live register in July, benefiting from the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive. This is an increase of 284 from June 2023.

Although the live register is not a measure of unemployment as people with part-time work can be entitled to benefits, it does broadly track changes in the labour market.

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Numbers on the live register have remained relatively constant in recent months amid an ongoing labour market squeeze, following a sharp decline from pandemic peaks as 228,200 people were on the register in July 2020.

The counties that saw the largest increase in the number of people signing on in the 12 months to July 2023 were Kerry (+10.8 per cent), Sligo (+10.7 per cent) and Leitrim (+10.6 per cent). The counties that saw the biggest decrease in the number of people signing on during the same period were Kildare (-8.5 per cent), Wicklow (-5.8 per cent) and Dublin (-5.6 per cent).

The 35-44 age group made up the largest number of those on the live register in July, at 45,483 people or 23.3 per cent of all claimants.

Of those on the unadjusted live register last month, 50.6 per cent were male, and 70.8 per cent were Irish.

The number of people on the register for one year or more in July was 68,133, down 799 from a year earlier.

The cessation of the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) scheme in March of last year has impacted year-on-year changes in jobseeker’s benefit claims, according to the CSO. The number of such recipients decreased by 18.1 per cent in July 2023 compared with 12 months earlier, down to 10,877 people.