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Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: labour@cso.ie Catalina Gonzalez (+353) 87 646 7535 Martina O'Callaghan (+353) 21 453 5491
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-535X
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Live Register

August 2020

 Live Register TotalSeasonally AdjustedPandemic Unemployment Payment Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy SchemeTotal (Excluding overlaps)
August 2019199,093187,900-- 
July 2020244,562226,100274,578453,743927,724
August 2020225,844213,700224,956359,095783,485
   
Change in month -12,400-49,622-94,648-144,239
Change in year + 26,751 -- 

COVID-19 crisis continues to impact labour market in August 2020

Live Register Seasonally Adjusted
go to full release

A range of measures were introduced by the Government to provide income support for those whose employment has been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. The available schemes are being administered by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) and the Revenue Commissioners. See our Infographic.

At the end of August 2020, 224,956 of those whose income from employment has been affected due to COVID-19 were being facilitated through the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) which is administered by the DEASP while a larger cohort were being facilitated through the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) in August 2020 (359,095 persons). See Table A2.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has worked to identify the detail available from the different sources and how the different schemes should be classified for statistical purposes. There is some overlap between those who meet the criteria to be included on the Live Register and those who are benefitting from either of the two COVID-19 income support schemes. These overlaps occur due to the different frequency of the payments, and the fact that some persons who are included on the Live Register may not be receiving a payment and so might be benefitting from either the PUP or the TWSS. We have included a total column in the Headline Table above and in Table A2 of this release today which takes account of the overlap and counts each person only once.

As users will be aware, the Live Register is a series which is available back to 1967 on the CSO’s StatBank tabular data service. The Live Register series is of immense historical value and the CSO is keen to protect the continuity of the series, while also trying to make as much information as possible available to users, charting the labour market effects of COVID-19.

The CSO published an information note on 01 April 2020 for users on the implications of the COVID-19 income support measures on the Live Register and the Monthly Unemployment Estimates releases. That information note is available here: Information Note on Implications of COVID-19 on the Live Register and the Monthly Unemployment Estimates.  The information note outlines why those in receipt of the COVID-19 income support payments are not included on the Live Register unless they meet the usual criteria to be included on the Live Register.

The unadjusted number of persons on the Live Register for each month since March 2020 may include a small number of applicants for the PUP who were advised to apply for jobseekers benefit if they have a dependant adult and at least one child, or four or more children in the case of no dependant adult.

The COVID-19 income supports were originally set up as short-term emergency income supports but they have been extended several times and there have been changes made in terms of the eligibility criteria and how they are being administered. While the PUP and the TWSS were both expected, until recently, to cease in August, the latest announcements have indicated that the PUP is expected to continue into 2021 while the TWSS has been replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 01 September 2020.

A review of non-recipient Live Register claims is ongoing at the DEASP and relates primarily to cases where a person who was in receipt of the PUP has since closed their PUP claim and reported a return to employment. This will impact the Live Register totals, as some of these non-recipient jobseeker claims were included on the Live Register, but their jobseeker claims were not automatically closed at that time (see the Technical Note - Live Register August 2020 published by the CSO today for more information including an analysis of Live Register recipient and non-recipient claims).

The Live Register for August 2020 has been compiled in the traditional way and the usual tables are included below. The CSO will continue to evaluate the available income support schemes and the results of the recipient and non-recipient analysis of the Live Register to determine whether any changes are required to the methodology for the Live Register to improve the usability of the series. In the meantime, caution needs to be exercised when assessing monthly changes. Any changes the CSO may make to the Live Register methodology in the future will be clearly outlined to users in the Live Register release and accompanying material.

The detailed commentary usually provided on the Live Register tables has not been included here but can be made available to users on request to labour@cso.ie.

The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment.  It includes part-time workers (those who work up to three days a week), seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) or Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA).  Unemployment is measured by the Labour Force Survey.

The Monthly Unemployment Rate (seasonally adjusted) is published in the Monthly Unemployment release.  

The unadjusted Live Register total for August 2020 was 225,844 persons; this consisted of 122,503 males (54.2%) and 103,341 females (45.8%). Of those on the Live Register for August 2020, 31,364 or 13.9%, are under 25 years of age, while 194,480, or 86.1%, are 25 years of age and over. See Table 1a.

On an adjusted basis, the number of male and female claimants on the Live Register were 118,900 and 94,800 representing 55.6% and 44.4% of the seasonally adjusted Live Register total respectively. See Table 2a.

A total of 224,956 persons were in receipt of the PUP for the last week of August 2020; this consisted of 117,565 males (52.3%) and 107,391 females (47.7%). Of those claiming the PUP, 46,329 or 20.6%, are under 25 years of age, while 178,627 or 79.4%, are 25 years of age and over. See Table A2.

There were 359,095 persons benefitting from the TWSS at the end of August 2020 with 189,859 males and 169,236 females representing 52.9% and 47.1% of the total respectively. Of those benefitting from the TWSS, 60,504 (16.8%) are under 25 years of age, while 298,591 (83.2%) are 25 years of age and over. See Table A2.

A total of 783,485 persons were on the Live Register in August 2020, received the PUP in the last week of August 2020 or benefitted from the TWSS in August 2020. See Table A2.

The CSO is working with and will continue to collaborate with both the DEASP and the Revenue Commissioners to meet user needs for availability of more detailed aggregates for the recipients of both the PUP and the TWSS respectively. Tables providing the breakdowns of the numbers receiving the PUP and the TWSS for each week by sex, age group, county and nationality grouping are available at the following link: Detailed COVID-19 Tables. 

This link also contains tables for the corresponding numbers included on the Live Register for each week as well as a total number of persons with overlaps removed who are either on the Live Register for each week or who were benefitting from either the PUP or the TWSS. The CSO will continue to work with both DEASP and the Revenue Commissioners to update these tables and to make any additional relevant breakdowns relating to the schemes available at the link above.

The Labour Market Analysis area of the CSO are compiling a mailing list of users who wish to register their interest in being kept informed of Labour Market related updates from the CSO. These email updates will include advising users of any updates to the aggregate tables available at the link above. If you wish to be included in this mailing list, please email labour@cso.ie and register your email address for inclusion on the mailing list.

DurationLess than one yearOne year or more
August 201813318991969
September 201811932486406
October 201811624982998
November 201811570480557
December 201812012779542
January 201912061779010
February 201911952177413
March 201911630076107
April 201911817874940
May 201911362976238
June 201911991677192
July 201912973876658
August 201912328875805
September 201911218971594
October 201911131369146
November 201910955268002
December 201911443867558
January 202011605067705
February 202011574566871
March 202013824466965
April 202014629168450
May 202015579869864
June 202014920471667
July 202016982274740
August 202015003975805
Under 25 years25 years and over
August 201825633199525
August 201922471176622
August 202031364194480
Broad Occupational GroupAugust 2018August 2019August 2020
1109091020310256
2156491477915553
3758869697651
4281772587224728
5362663147931919
6286892510926832
7233381968720461
8333712830128845
9270012400425647
10141701269033952
KEY  
1- Managers and administrators
2- Professional
3- Associate professional and technical
4- Clerical and secretarial
5- Craft and related
6- Personal and Protective service
7- Sales
8- Plant and machine operatives
9- Other occupation
10- No occupation

 

Table 1(a) Total persons on the Live Register
CategoryAugust 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims17,18833,46324,747-8,716+7,559
    JA Applications83,52492,70091,502-1,198+7,978
    Other Registrants7,1376,2836,254-29-883
    Total107,849132,446122,503-9,943+14,654
 
Females
    JB Claims22,94937,35929,959-7,400+7,010
    JA Applications52,14360,05658,801-1,255+6,658
    Other Registrants16,15214,70114,581-120-1,571
    Total91,244112,116103,341-8,775+12,097
 
All Persons
    JB Claims40,13770,82254,706-16,116+14,569
    JA Applications135,667152,756150,303-2,453+14,636
    Other Registrants23,28920,98420,835-149-2,454
    Total199,093244,562225,844-18,718+26,751
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 1(a) (XLS 37KB)
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Table 1(b) Persons under 25 years of age on the Live Register
CategoryAugust 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims1,2752,4281,974-454+699
    JA Applications11,39615,36815,085-283+3,689
    Other Registrants554748+1-7
    Total12,72617,84317,107-736+4,381
 
Females
    JB Claims1,3713,0432,687-356+1,316
    JA Applications8,31311,72811,511-217+3,198
    Other Registrants615759+2-2
    Total9,74514,82814,257-571+4,512
 
All Persons
    JB Claims2,6465,4714,661-810+2,015
    JA Applications19,70927,09626,596-500+6,887
    Other Registrants116104107+3-9
    Total22,47132,67131,364-1,307+8,893
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 1(b) (XLS 36KB)
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Table 1(c) Persons 25 years of age and over on the Live Register
CategoryAugust 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims15,91331,03522,773-8,262+6,860
    JA Applications72,12877,33276,417-915+4,289
    Other Registrants7,0826,2366,206-30-876
    Total95,123114,603105,396-9,207+10,273
 
Females
    JB Claims21,57834,31627,272-7,044+5,694
    JA Applications43,83048,32847,290-1,038+3,460
    Other Registrants16,09114,64414,522-122-1,569
    Total81,49997,28889,084-8,204+7,585
 
All Persons
    JB Claims37,49165,35150,045-15,306+12,554
    JA Applications115,958125,660123,707-1,953+7,749
    Other Registrants23,17320,88020,728-152-2,445
    Total176,622211,891194,480-17,411+17,858
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 1(c) (XLS 36KB)
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Table 2(a) Total persons on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted
 Unadjusted SeriesSeasonally Adjusted Series¹
 MonthMalesFemalesAll Persons MalesFemalesAll Persons
2018August123,354101,804225,158119,80093,600213,400
 September115,89089,840205,730118,20092,600210,900
 October112,39786,850199,247116,80091,600208,400
 November110,83685,425196,261115,20090,700205,900
 December112,41487,255199,669113,80089,800203,500
 
2019January113,15486,473199,627112,10088,500200,700
 February111,31785,617196,934110,50087,400197,900
 March109,13083,277192,407109,30086,600195,900
 April107,76585,353193,118108,60086,700195,300
 May107,01882,849189,867106,30085,000191,300
 June108,27388,835197,108105,30084,300189,700
 July108,93697,460206,396104,80084,300189,100
 August107,84991,244199,093104,60083,300187,900
 September103,54880,235183,783105,60083,000188,600
 October100,96179,498180,459104,80084,000188,700
 November100,65976,895177,554104,60082,100186,700
 December102,87879,118181,996104,10081,500185,700
 
2020January104,60579,150183,755103,80081,200185,000
 February103,59679,020182,616103,40080,900184,300
 March113,26891,941205,209113,70095,500209,200
 April119,23295,509214,741120,40096,900217,200
 May124,960100,702225,662124,100103,000227,100
 June121,10899,763220,871117,90094,900212,800
 July132,446112,116244,562127,90098,100226,100
 August122,503103,341225,844 118,90094,800213,700
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 2(a) (XLS 42KB)
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Table 2(b) Persons under 25 years of age on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted
 Unadjusted Series Seasonally Adjusted Series¹
 MonthMalesFemalesAll Persons MalesFemalesAll Persons
2018August14,58311,05025,63313,5009,50023,100
 September13,2759,39522,67013,2009,30022,500
 October12,3928,66321,05513,0009,20022,300
 November11,8328,18020,01212,7009,10021,900
 December11,7988,12319,92112,5009,00021,600
 
2019January12,3088,56920,87712,3009,00021,300
 February12,2448,62420,86812,1008,80021,000
 March12,0308,42020,45012,0008,70020,800
 April11,6788,27119,94911,9008,70020,600
 May11,8918,45620,34711,8008,50020,400
 June12,2939,25521,54811,8008,50020,300
 July12,5009,99022,49011,9008,50020,300
 August12,7269,74522,47111,8008,40020,200
 September11,9498,39320,34211,9008,30020,200
 October11,1997,71918,91811,8008,30020,000
 November11,0007,36218,36211,8008,20020,000
 December11,1007,36918,46911,7008,20020,000
 
2020January11,7387,85319,59111,7008,20019,900
 February11,6998,03319,73211,6008,20019,800
 March13,07410,32323,39713,00010,70023,800
 April14,28111,31725,59814,60011,80026,400
 May16,27813,33929,61716,20013,50029,700
 June16,34313,23629,57915,80012,20028,000
 July17,84314,82832,67117,00012,50029,500
 August17,10714,25731,364 15,90012,30028,200
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 2(b) (XLS 42KB)
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Table 2(c) Persons 25 years of age and over on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted
  Unadjusted SeriesSeasonally Adjusted Series¹
 MonthMalesFemalesAll Persons MalesFemalesAll Persons
2018August108,77190,754199,525 106,30084,000190,300
 September102,61580,445183,060 105,00083,300188,300
 October100,00578,187178,192 103,70082,400186,100
 November99,00477,245176,249 102,50081,600184,100
 December100,61679,132179,748 101,30080,700182,000
 
2019January100,84677,904178,750 99,80079,500179,400
 February99,07376,993176,066 98,40078,500176,900
 March97,10074,857171,957 97,30077,900175,100
 April96,08777,082173,169 96,70078,000174,700
 May95,12774,393169,520 94,50076,500170,900
 June95,98079,580175,560 93,50075,800169,300
 July96,43687,470183,906 93,00075,800168,800
 August95,12381,499176,622 92,70074,900167,700
 September91,59971,842163,441 93,70074,700168,400
 October89,76271,779161,541 93,00075,700168,700
 November89,65969,533159,192 92,80073,800166,600
 December91,77871,749163,527 92,40073,300165,700
 
2020January92,86771,297164,164 92,10073,000165,100
 February91,89770,987162,884 91,80072,600164,400
 March100,19481,618181,812 100,70084,800185,400
 April104,95184,192189,143 105,80085,000190,800
 May108,68287,363196,045 107,90089,500197,400
 June104,76586,527191,292 102,10082,800184,800
 July114,60397,288211,891 111,00085,600196,600
 August105,39689,084194,480 103,00082,500185,500
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 2(c) (XLS 42KB)
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Table 3 Summary of flows on and off the Live Register¹
  Males Females All Claimants
  Live RegisterJoined Live RegisterStayed on Live RegisterLeft Live Register Live RegisterJoined Live RegisterStayed on Live RegisterLeft Live Register Live RegisterJoined Live RegisterStayed on Live RegisterLeft Live Register
JB Claims
2019August17,1883,86313,3253,718 22,9493,69119,2587,791 40,1377,55432,58311,509
 September16,6563,81812,8383,908 17,2353,18414,0518,522 33,8917,00226,88912,430
 October16,6234,59812,0254,011 18,4535,32613,1273,573 35,0769,92425,1527,584
 November16,8674,05812,8093,357 17,2043,37313,8314,280 34,0717,43126,6407,637
 December18,3093,85514,4541,922 19,1184,03315,0851,765 37,4277,88829,5393,687
 
2020January19,5115,34814,1633,557 19,1744,62614,5484,190 38,6859,97428,7117,747
 February19,3203,78215,5383,505 19,3873,42315,9642,836 38,7077,20531,5026,341
 March25,5499,38516,1642,678 28,44312,11616,3272,697 53,99221,50132,4915,375
 April28,3356,20122,1342,666 29,6654,99524,6703,124 58,00011,19646,8045,790
 May29,7805,14924,6313,114 31,2164,95626,2602,851 60,99610,10550,8915,965
 June26,6824,61122,0717,035 30,1086,18823,9206,670 56,79010,79945,99113,705
 July33,46312,85620,6075,074 37,35913,13424,2254,970 70,82225,99044,83210,044
 August24,7474,76719,98012,595 29,9594,91125,04811,558 54,7069,67845,02824,153
JA Applications
2019August83,5245,49278,0326,535 52,1433,61748,5265,162 135,6679,109126,55811,697
 September79,9275,66474,2639,656 47,5513,37944,1728,242 127,4789,043118,43517,898
 October77,4485,89571,5538,905 45,6413,93941,7026,205 123,0899,834113,25515,110
 November77,0485,22871,8206,041 44,6943,06941,6254,260 121,7428,297113,44510,301
 December77,8364,07873,7583,728 44,9742,54742,4272,529 122,8106,625116,1856,257
 
2020January78,4515,58372,8685,530 45,2123,67041,5423,733 123,6639,253114,4109,263
 February77,6544,55473,1005,772 44,9512,95941,9923,484 122,6057,513115,0929,256
 March81,2297,57373,6564,445 49,0676,50942,5582,698 130,29614,082116,2147,143
 April84,4765,30279,1742,756 51,4623,91947,5432,033 135,9389,221126,7174,789
 May88,8166,48682,3302,702 55,2605,49749,7632,175 144,07611,983132,0934,877
 June88,0885,72282,3667,061 55,2945,49149,8035,927 143,38211,213132,16912,988
 July92,7009,37783,3235,704 60,0568,34551,7114,300 152,75617,722135,03410,004
 August91,5026,17885,3248,196 58,8014,86653,9356,704 150,30311,044139,25914,900
Other Registrants
2019August7,1371556,982342 16,15232215,830895 23,28947722,8121,237
 September6,9651296,836347 15,44926315,1861,072 22,41439222,0221,419
 October6,8901956,695358 15,40449814,906723 22,29469321,6011,081
 November6,7441326,612322 14,99727714,720782 21,74140921,3321,104
 December6,7331496,584213 15,02634414,682407 21,75949321,266620
 
2020January6,6431676,476284 14,76429514,469636 21,40746220,945920
 February6,6221226,500192 14,68225814,424448 21,30438020,924640
 March6,490966,394257 14,43123514,196546 20,92133120,590803
 April6,421876,334203 14,38219214,190382 20,80327920,524585
 May6,364566,308148 14,22610614,120339 20,59016220,428487
 June6,338796,259165 14,36122814,133252 20,69930720,392417
 July6,283946,189212 14,70152414,177379 20,98461820,366591
 August6,254696,185166 14,58116014,421450 20,83522920,606616
All Schemes
2019August107,8499,51098,33910,595 91,2447,63083,61413,848 199,09317,140181,95324,443
 September103,5489,61193,93713,911 80,2356,82673,40917,836 183,78316,437167,34631,747
 October100,96110,68890,27313,274 79,4989,76369,73510,501 180,45920,451160,00823,775
 November100,6599,41891,2419,720 76,8956,71970,1769,322 177,55416,137161,41719,042
 December102,8788,08294,7965,863 79,1186,92472,1944,701 181,99615,006166,99010,564
 
2020January104,60511,09893,5079,371 79,1508,59170,5598,559 183,75519,689164,06617,930
 February103,5968,45895,1389,469 79,0206,64072,3806,768 182,61615,098167,51816,237
 March113,26817,05496,2147,380 91,94118,86073,0815,941 205,20935,914169,29513,321
 April119,23211,590107,6425,625 95,5099,10686,4035,539 214,74120,696194,04511,164
 May124,96011,691113,2695,964 100,70210,55990,1435,365 225,66222,250203,41211,329
 June121,10810,412110,69614,261 99,76311,90787,85612,849 220,87122,319198,55227,110
 July132,44622,327110,11910,990 112,11622,00390,1139,649 244,56244,330200,23220,639
 August122,50311,014111,48920,957 103,3419,93793,40418,712 225,84420,951204,89339,669
1 Flow analysis: inflows and outflows published in this table do not take account of inter-scheme activity within the Live Register. For example, if a claimant exhausts his/her entitlement to JB and opens a new JA claim this is counted as an outflow in JB and an inflow in JA.
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 3 (XLS 71KB)
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Table 4 Persons on the Live Register classified by region
NUTS2 and NUTS3 Regions¹August 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
      Northern and Western21,39122,34822,060-2886692,75219,308
      Border11,17311,76211,597-165+4241,49110,106
      West10,21810,58610,463-123+2451,2619,202
 
      Southern 36,09838,45838,095-363+1,9975,03033,065
      Mid-West11,34912,27912,174-105+8251,67610,498
      South-East12,56512,93212,853-79+2881,77511,078
      South-West12,18413,24713,068-179+8841,57911,489
 
     Eastern and Midland50,24652,89552,861-34+2,6156,75046,111
      Dublin28,04429,44229,414-28+1,3703,48725,927
      Mid-East14,02714,96214,923-39+8962,02512,898
      Midland8,1758,4918,524+33+3491,2387,286
      Total107,849132,446122,503-9,943+14,65417,107105,396
 
Females
      Northern and Western19,17620,35219,641-7114652,47117,170
      Border9,81510,3209,950-370+1351,3278,623
      West9,36110,0329,691-341+3301,1448,547
 
      Southern 30,59433,65232,106-1,546+1,5124,08428,022
      Mid-West9,32610,1659,606-559+2801,3578,249
      South-East10,42511,06510,694-371+2691,4329,262
      South-West10,84312,42211,806-616+9631,29510,511
 
     Eastern and Midland41,35443,99342,849-1,144+1,4955,13537,714
      Dublin21,05722,47522,127-348+1,0702,44219,685
      Mid-East12,80413,96413,341-623+5371,60411,737
      Midland7,4937,5547,381-173-1121,0896,292
      Total91,244112,116103,341-8,775+12,09714,25789,084
 
All Persons
      Northern and Western40,56742,70041,701-9991,1345,22336,478
      Border20,98822,08221,547-535+5592,81818,729
      West19,57920,61820,154-464+5752,40517,749
 
      Southern 66,69272,11070,201-1,909+3,5099,11461,087
      Mid-West20,67522,44421,780-664+1,1053,03318,747
      South-East22,99023,99723,547-450+5573,20720,340
      South-West23,02725,66924,874-795+1,8472,87422,000
 
     Eastern and Midland91,60096,88895,710-1,178+4,11011,88583,825
      Dublin49,10151,91751,541-376+2,4405,92945,612
      Mid-East26,83128,92628,264-662+1,4333,62924,635
      Midland15,66816,04515,905-140+2372,32713,578
      Total2199,093244,562225,844-18,718+26,75131,364194,480
¹ The composition of the regions is described in the Background Notes
2 From January 2018, registrations which have yet not being assigned to a DEASP local office of registration are included in the Live Register Totals. These registrations are not included in individual NUTS3/ NUTS2 totals in this table
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 4 (XLS 47KB)
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Table 5 Persons on the Live Register classified by last held occupation
Broad occupational groupAugust 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
Managers and administrators5,5125,7025,509-193-31575,352
Professional5,8696,5626,339-223+4704965,843
Associate professional and technical 3,8274,1974,166-31+3393973,769
Clerical and secretarial6,1766,4316,101-330-756385,463
Craft and related 26,19226,98926,399-590+2072,31124,088
Personal and protective service8,0309,2078,779-428+7491,0207,759
Sales7,1137,7497,674-75+5612,0305,644
Plant and machine operatives20,25021,25220,740-512+4902,41918,321
Other occupation17,43318,59118,279-312+8462,57915,700
No occupation¹7,44725,76618,517-7,249+11,0705,06013,457
Total 107,849132,446122,503-9,943+14,65417,107105,396
 
Females
Managers and administrators4,6914,9664,747-219+561374,610
Professional8,9109,9889,214-774+3046388,576
Associate professional and technical 3,1423,5613,485-76+3432383,247
Clerical and secretarial19,69621,11118,627-2,484-1,06991717,710
Craft and related 5,2875,7405,520-220+2337814,739
Personal and protective service17,07919,67918,053-1,626+9742,28015,773
Sales12,57413,06012,787-273+2132,45910,328
Plant and machine operatives8,0518,5258,105-420+541,1316,974
Other occupation6,5717,4387,368-70+7971,3636,005
No occupation¹5,24318,04815,435-2,613+10,1924,31311,122
Total91,244112,116103,341-8,775+12,09714,25789,084
 
All Persons
Managers and administrators10,20310,66810,256-412+532949,962
Professional14,77916,55015,553-997+7741,13414,419
Associate professional and technical 6,9697,7587,651-107+6826357,016
Clerical and secretarial25,87227,54224,728-2,814-1,1441,55523,173
Craft and related 31,47932,72931,919-810+4403,09228,827
Personal and protective service25,10928,88626,832-2,054+1,7233,30023,532
Sales19,68720,80920,461-348+7744,48915,972
Plant and machine operatives28,30129,77728,845-932+5443,55025,295
Other occupation24,00426,02925,647-382+1,6433,94221,705
No occupation¹12,69043,81433,952-9,862+21,2629,37324,579
Total 199,093244,562225,844-18,718+26,75131,364194,480
¹ Includes those who never worked and those who have no stated occupation
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 5 (XLS 46KB)
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Table 6 Persons on the Live Register classified by duration of continuous registration
DurationAugust 2019July 2020August 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
   Less than one year63,59488,41677,759-10,657+14,16513,33564,424
   One year or more44,25544,03044,744+714+4893,77240,972
   Total107,849132,446122,503-9,943+14,65417,107105,396
 
Females
   Less than one year59,69481,40672,280-9,126+12,58611,85260,428
   One year or more31,55030,71031,061+351-4892,40528,656
   Total91,244112,116103,341-8,775+12,09714,25789,084
 
All Persons
   Less than one year123,288169,822150,039-19,783+26,75125,187124,852
   One year or more75,80574,74075,805+1,06506,17769,628
   Total199,093244,562225,844-18,718+26,75131,364194,480
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 6 (XLS 36KB)
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Table 7 Casual and part-time workers on the Live Register
  MalesMonthly change FemalesMonthly change All PersonsMonthly change
2018August21,492-798 22,102-753 43,594-1,551
 September20,719-773 21,405-697 42,124-1,470
 October20,309-410 21,344-61 41,653-471
 November20,286-23 21,473+129 41,759+106
 December20,348+62 21,403-70 41,751-8
 
2019January20,079-269 21,161-242 41,240-511
 February20,090+11 21,174+13 41,264+24
 March19,803-287 20,956-218 40,759-505
 April19,280-523 20,403-553 39,683-1,076
 May18,502-778 19,894-509 38,396-1,287
 June18,259-243 19,856-38 38,115-281
 July17,915-344 19,671-185 37,586-529
 August17,543-372 19,236-435 36,779-807
 September17,408-135 18,703-533 36,111-668
 October17,320-88 18,629-74 35,949-162
 November17,562+242 18,964+335 36,526+577
 December17,754+192 19,062+98 36,816+290
 
2020January17,561-193 18,794-268 36,355-461
 February17,661+100 18,945+151 36,606+251
 March17,689+28 18,918-27 36,607+1
 April17,436-253 18,861-57 36,297-310
 May17,643+207 18,873+12 36,516+219
 June17,630-13 19,026+153 36,656+140
 July17,763+133 19,458+432 37,221+565
 August17,412-351 19,269-189 36,681-540
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 7 (XLS 43KB)
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Table 8 Persons on the Live Register classified by nationality grouping
  Nationality grouping
  Non-Irish nationals     
  United KingdomEU14_2020 excl. IRL 1EU15-EU27_2020 1Other  Non-Irish nationalsIrish nationalsAll Persons
2018August8,6452,60020,1937,149 38,587186,571225,158
 September7,9652,42618,9106,504 35,805169,925205,730
 October7,7962,42818,6016,107 34,932164,315199,247
 November7,7872,50518,6325,983 34,907161,354196,261
 December7,9042,49719,2116,003 35,615164,054199,669
 
2019January7,8692,58819,4506,020 35,927163,700199,627
 February7,7652,59519,2385,948 35,546161,388196,934
 March7,5572,43818,8735,948 34,816157,591192,407
 April7,4722,43618,4815,953 34,342158,776193,118
 May7,4042,39318,0276,232 34,056155,811189,867
 June7,5902,46718,0606,545 34,662162,446197,108
 July7,8202,55418,1266,735 35,235171,161206,396
 August7,6672,49217,7886,696 34,643164,450199,093
 September7,0532,37217,4176,538 33,380150,403183,783
 October6,9582,26516,7855,921 31,929148,530180,459
 November6,9352,31816,8355,837 31,925145,629177,554
 December7,1402,39517,3685,890 32,793149,203181,996
 
2020January7,1552,48817,8736,031 33,547150,208183,755
 February7,1082,46917,8356,050 33,462149,154182,616
 March7,7643,54521,0788,983 41,370163,839205,209
 April8,0813,82722,17410,196 44,278170,463214,741
 May8,3984,40623,14012,483 48,427177,235225,662
 June8,2663,65321,81810,280 44,017176,854220,871
 July9,0544,08924,28911,898 49,330195,232244,562
 August8,4903,70421,40610,980 44,580181,264225,844
1 In light of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union with effect from 1 February 2020, the EU classification has been updated.
EU14_2020 excl. IRL before February 2020 was formally classified as EU15 excl. IRL & UK.
EU15-EU27_2020 before February 2020 was formally classified as EU15 to EU28 States.
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table 8 (XLS 47KB)
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Annex Table A1 - Number of persons availing of Activation Programmes
 July 2019June 2020July 2020
Back to Work Schemes    
Back to Work Enterprise allowance scheme -self employed strand4,7683,2213,117
Short-term Enterprise Allowance1 342217209
Total Back to Work payments 5,1103,4383,326
 
Other Activation Programmes    
DSP Part-time Job Incentive189121111
TUS - Community Work Placement Initiative (2011)6,0045,2935,201
Total Other Activation Programmes6,1935,4145,312
     
Community Employment Schemes (excluding Supervisors)21,34920,82620,708
 
SOLAS (FAS) Full Time Training for Unemployed People4,20721,94421,254
     
Back to Education Courses    
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)2910786746
Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)1,0075,9553,316
Total Back to Education Courses3, 41,9176,7414,062
     
Total Activation Programmes38,77658,36354,662
1 This scheme was introduced from 1st May 2009. It provides immediate support for someone in receipt of Jobseekers Benefit who wants to start a business.
2 Starting from January 2019, VTOS figures for 2018 and 2019 are being supplied directly from the new SOLAS computer system PLSS. VTOS figures were estimated at 5,000 per month to December 2017.
3 BTEA figures include all schemes but participants from JA & JB are not entitled to BTEA during the summer holidays. In 2020 the majority of BTEA recipients will be paid for the summer period.
4 Includes MOMENTUM participants from February 2013.
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 – Annex (XLS 37KB)
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Table A2 Number of persons on the Live Register and number in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, and the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
Category Live RegisterPandemic Unemployment Payment 2Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme 1,2Total (Excluding overlaps) 1,2,3
August 2020Males    
     Under 25 years of age17,10723,90627,84268,928
     25 years of age and over105,39693,659162,017348,973
     Total122,503117,565189,859417,901
 
 Females    
     Under 25 years of age14,25722,42332,66268,910
     25 years of age and over89,08484,968136,574296,674
     Total103,341107,391169,236365,584
 
 All Persons    
     Under 25 years of age31,36446,32960,504137,838
     25 years of age and over194,480178,627298,591645,647
     Total225,844224,956359,095783,485
 
July 2020Males
     Under 25 years of age17,84329,47333,29380,066
     25 years of age and over114,603116,564212,248422,623
     Total132,446146,037245,541502,689
 
 Females
     Under 25 years of age14,82827,60337,49178,885
     25 years of age and over97,288100,938170,711346,180
     Total112,116128,541208,202420,035
 
 All Persons
     Under 25 years of age32,67157,07670,784158,921
     25 years of age and over211,891217,502382,959768,803
     Total244,562274,578453,743927,724
 
June 2020Males
     Under 25 years of age16,34346,17926,28289,238
     25 years of age and over104,765178,916202,665467,057
     Total121,108225,095228,947556,295
 
 Females
     Under 25 years of age13,23649,84423,39485,975
     25 years of age and over86,527163,994141,039369,291
     Total99,763213,838164,433455,266
 
 All Persons
     Under 25 years of age29,57996,02349,676175,213
     25 years of age and over191,292342,910343,704836,348
     Total220,871438,933393,3801,011,561
 
May 2020Males
     Under 25 years of age16,27857,81527,949100,661
     25 years of age and over108,682238,543243,187557,516
     Total124,960296,358271,136658,177
 
 Females
     Under 25 years of age13,33957,17123,60291,781
     25 years of age and over87,363189,635157,703403,819
     Total100,702246,806181,305495,600
 
 All Persons
     Under 25 years of age29,617114,98651,551192,442
     25 years of age and over196,045428,178400,890961,335
     Total225,662543,164452,4411,153,777
Source: Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Revenue Commissioners
1Revised
2Subject to revision due to different payment frequencies
3Total number of persons on the Live Register and/or receiving a Pandemic Unemployment Payment or in receipt of Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme
Open in Excel: Live Register August 2020 Table A2 (XLS 59KB)
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Background Notes

Source and scope of the Live Register

The Live Register is compiled from returns made for each local office to the Central Statistics Office by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).  It comprises of persons under 65 years of age in the following classes:

  • All Claimants for Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB) excluding systematic short-time workers
  • Applicants for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) excluding smallholders/farm assists and other self-employed persons
  • Other registrants including applicants for credited Social Welfare contributions but excluding those directly involved in an industrial dispute.

The Live Register excludes those claimants on Jobseeker schemes who are 65 years of age and over. There was no change to this exclusion criterion with the removal of the State Pension (Transition) Scheme from 01 January 2014. Persons aged 65 years can remain on a Jobseeker scheme up to their next birthday but are not included in the Live Register.

Prior to January 2017, the DEASP provided tabulated claimant counts directly to the CSO to facilitate production of the Live Register. These claimant counts were grouped by age, gender, occupation, nationality, duration, region, county and local welfare office. Data provided in this fashion is available from 1967 to December 2016.

Beginning with January 2017, the Live Register has been produced using claimant microdata from the DEASP Integrated Short Term Scheme (ISTS) database. Claimants are determined to be on the Live Register if they fulfil the Live Register criteria and such persons are summarised and cross-tabulated to produce the counts published in the Live Register release.

As claimant count microdata was retrospectively available to January 2012, previously published Live Register data for this period were revised with data produced from the claimant microdata. These revisions were generally minor in nature and are included in this release as well as all relevant Statbank tables.

Source and scope of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a scheme set up by the Government in response to the loss of income for those whose employment had been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. It is compiled from returns made to the Central Statistics Office by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). Payments under the scheme commenced on the week ending 22 March 2020, and will be reported under the Live Register release while the scheme is in place. 

Source and scope of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme is another scheme set up by the Government in response to the loss of income for those whose employment had been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. It is compiled from returns made to the Central Statistics Office by the Revenue Commissioners. Refunds are issued to employers registered under the scheme, who in turn pay their employees. The figures in this release reflect the number of persons receiving a payment under the scheme based on the pay date of the employee and will be reported a weekly basis as well as a monthly cumulative. Refunds under the scheme commenced on the week ending 28 March 2020, but might refer to earlier pay dates. Please see Detailed COVID-19 Income Support and Live Register Tables

Reference Periods

The reference periods for the Live Register and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (where applicable) results are as follows

August 2020 - 3 August 2020 to 30 August 2020

July 2020 - 29 June 2020 to 2 August 2020

June 2020 - 1 June 2020 to 28 June 2020

May 2020 – 4 May 2020 to 31 May 2020

August 2019 - 28 July 2019 to 31 August 2019

From May 2015 (reference period) the reference period for the Live Register refers to the week of the last Thursday in the month, previously the reference period referred to the week of the last Friday in the month.

The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment.  It includes part-time (those who work up to three days a week), seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseekers Allowance and or Jobseekers Benefit.  Monthly unemployment is measured by the Monthly Unemployment release and quarterly unemployment is measured by the Labour Force Survey (formerly the Quarterly National Household Survey).

The reference Period for the Temporary Wage Subsidy scheme as reported in this release on a monthly basis is as follows:

August 2020 - 3 August to 30 August 2020

July 2020 -29 June to 2 August 2020

June 2020 - 1 June to 28 June 2020

May 2020 – 4 May 2020 to 31 May 2020

April 2020 - 30 March 2020 to 3 May 2020

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme is also reported on a weekly basis here:  Detailed COVID-19 Income Support and Live Register Tables

Standardised unemployment rates

The Standardised Unemployment Rate (SUR) series, previously in Table 3, has been discontinued from May 2015. It has been replaced by the Monthly Unemployment series. The Monthly Unemployment, August 2020 release is scheduled for publication on 09 September 2020. 

Labour Force Survey 

The Labour Force Survey (LFS), was launched in January 2018 with the publication of Quarter 3 2017 data (Q3 2017). The Labour Force survey replaced the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS).

The LFS provides quarterly estimates of the unemployment rate.

The calendar reference quarters for survey results are:
Q1 - January to March, Q2 - April to June, Q3 - July to September and Q4 - October to December.

Seasonal Adjustment

Since January 2011 the seasonal adjustment of the Live Register is completed by applying the X-12-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. Seasonal adjustment is conducted using the indirect approach, where each individual series is independently adjusted (male under 25 years, female under 25 years, male 25 years and over and female 25 years and over). To preserve consistency between the individual and aggregate series, the series for gender, age group and total Live Register are then created from these four component series.

The X-12 ARIMA method has the X-11 moving averages process at its core, but builds on this by providing options for pre-treating the series using a regARIMA approach for prior adjustment and series extension. In essence this methodology will estimate seasonal factors while taking account of temporary changes, outliers, level shifts and calendar effects (e.g timing of Easter).

All Live Register series are updated monthly with the latest three years of seasonally adjusted data as part of the concurrent approach. The comprehensive annual review contains revisions to the entire series. Revisions to the series are typically very minor in scale.

Seasonally adjusting the Live Register series during the Covid-19 crisis period will be challenging until the scale and shape of its impact on the time series is better understood. This initial seasonally adjusted result might be revised for some months ahead as future observations become available. Users should be aware that there is increases uncertainty around the seasonally adjusted figures during this period.

For additional information on the use of X-12-ARIMA see detailed note in the January 2011 Live Register release.

Jobseeker’s Benefit Duration

Prior to 19 January 2004 Jobseeker’s Benefit was payable for 15 months (390 days).

From 19 January 2004, Jobseeker’s Benefit could be paid for a maximum of 15 months (390 days) to people who had at least 260 paid PRSI contributions.  Jobseeker’s Benefit could be paid for a maximum of 12 months (312 days) to people who had less than 260 paid contributions (Refers to new claims).

From 15 October 2008, Jobseeker’s Benefit could be paid for a maximum of 12 months (312 days) to people who had at least 260 paid PRSI contributions.  Jobseeker’s Benefit could be paid for a maximum of 9 months (234 days) to people who had less than 260 paid contributions.

As of 3 April 2013, Jobseeker’s Benefit can be paid for a maximum of 9 months (234 days) to people who have 260 paid PRSI contributions. Jobseeker’s Benefit can be paid for a maximum of 6 months (156 days) to people who have less than 260 paid contributions (Refers to new claims).

Claimants getting Jobseeker’s Benefit for 6 months or more on 3 April 2013 (or 3 months for people with fewer than 260 contributions) will not be affected.

One-Parent Family Payment (OFP)

The One-Parent Family Payment is a social welfare payment for men and women who are younger than 66 and bring up children without the support of a partner and meet certain other criteria. Claimants on this scheme are not counted as part of the Live Register.

From July 2013 new rules came into operation reducing the age limits for the One-Parent Family Payment. This means that some people no longer qualify for the payment and may avail of other schemes or supports.

As a consequence, approximately 2,800 people in July 2013, 1,300 people in July 2014 and 2,786 people in July 2015, previously receiving the One-Parent Family Payment, made a claim for Jobseekers Allowance (JA) and will therefore appear on the Live Register.

For information on the age-related changes to the OFP scheme from July 2013, please see the following link to the DEASP website:

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/278_One-Parent-Family-Payment.aspx

Live Register Flows

Live Register flows are calculated by analysing persons on the Live Register in the reference week of the reference month compared to those on the Live Register in the reference week of the previous month. The flows are calculated as follows:

Joined Live Register: Persons on the Live Register in the reference week of the current month who were not present on the Live Register in the reference week of the previous month.

Stayed on Live Register: Persons on the Live Register in the reference week of the current month who were also present on the Live Register in the reference week of the previous month.

Left Live Register: Persons not on the Live Register in the reference week of the current month who were present on the Live Register in the reference week of the previous month.

Inflows and outflows published in this release relate to persons moving on or off the Live Register. Inter-scheme movement is not counted as a Live Register flow. For example, if a claimant exhausts his/her entitlement to JB and opens a new JA claim, this is not counted as an outflow in JB and an inflow in JA. The person has moved scheme but has not joined nor left the Live Register. Thus, those persons who move schemes from one month to the next are counted as “Stayed on the Live Register”.

Live Register Area Analysis

The basis of the area analysis in Live Register statistics is the DEASP local office of registration.  The areas served by Local Employment Offices do not correspond to specific geographic boundaries.  Therefore, registrants at a given local office do not necessarily come from a particular region or area which can be precisely delineated e.g. data for the Cork City Local Offices of Registration refers to all persons signing on in Cork City but may include persons not resident in Cork City. 

From January 2018, registrations which have yet not being assigned to a DEASP local office of registration are included in the Live Register totals. Therefore as these registrations are not included in the regional breakdowns, the sum of these regions may not add to the Live Register totals.

The latest available Live Register data by Province, County and Local Office of Registration are published on the CSO website, through the CSO StatBank, on the publication of this release, see link here.

 

NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions

The regional classifications in this release is based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) classification used by Eurostat. Until Q4 2017, the NUTS3 regions corresponded to the eight Regional Authorities established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, which came into operation on 1 January 1994 while the NUTS2 regions, which were proposed by Government and agreed by Eurostat in 1999, were groupings of those historic NUTS3 regions.

However, the NUTS3 boundaries were amended on 21 November 2016 under Regulation (EC) No. 2066/2016 and have come into force from Q1 2018. These new groupings are reflected in the LFS results from Q1 2018 onwards. The changes resulting from the amendment are that County Louth has moved from the Border to the Mid-East and what was formerly South Tipperary has moved from the South-East to the Mid-West, resulting in the new NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions:

Northern & Western NUTS2 Region Southern NUTS2 Region Eastern & Midland NUTS2 Region
Border Cavan Mid-West Clare Dublin Dublin City
  Donegal   Limerick City & County   Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown
  Leitrim   Tipperary   Fingal
  Monaghan       South Dublin
  Sligo        
    South-East Carlow Mid-East Kildare
West Galway City   Kilkenny   Meath
  Galway County   Waterford City & County   Wicklow
  Mayo   Wexford   Louth
  Roscommon        
        Midland Laois
    South-West Cork City   Longford
      Cork County   Offaly
      Kerry   Westmeath

 

Occupations

Live Register occupational data is sourced from information collected by the DEASP on the most recent occupation of claimants when they sign on the Live Register.  The classification used is based on the UK Standard Occupational Classification (SOC).  “No occupation” is an additional category and includes those who have never worked and those who have no stated occupation.

Age by Duration Analysis

Detailed tables relating to regional and scheme data are available on the CSO website through the CSO Main Data Dissemination Service, StatBank, to see these please click here

Casual and part-time workers

The number of claimants on the Live Register who work on a casual and /or part-time basis is supplied by the DEASP. People who work for part of a week may be eligible for Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance and may also be included on the Live Register, if the DEASP is satisfied that they are not in full-time employment, are available for work and are looking for full-time employment.  

Nationality

Data in the nationality grouping table is sourced from information collected by the DEASP on the nationality of claimants when they first sign on the Live Register.

For further information or assistance use the contact details below or e-mail labour@cso.ie

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Scan the QR code below to view this release online or go to
http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/lr/liveregisteraugust2020/

Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

Tel:
(+353) 21 453 5000
E-Mail:
information@cso.ie

Links:

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