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For more information on this release:
E-mail: labour@cso.ie Catalina Gonzalez (+353) 87 6467535 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

COVID-19 Release Information

This release was compiled during the Covid-19 pandemic. For further information see our Information Note on Implications of COVID-19 on the Live Register and the Monthly Unemployment Estimates

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Live Register

March 2020

 Live Register TotalSeasonally AdjustedPandemic Unemployment Payment Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy SchemeLive Register and COVID-19 Related Payments Total
March 2019192,407195,200   
February 2020182,616182,800
March 2020205,209207,200283,03725,104513,350
  
Change in month- + 24,400
Change in year + 12,802-   

COVID-19 crisis impacts Labour Market

Live Register Seasonally Adjusted
go to full release

A range of measures have been introduced by the Government in relation to providing 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.

The majority of those whose income from employment has been affected due to COVID-19 are currently being facilitated through the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (283,037 persons) which is administered by the DEASP while a smaller cohort are currently being facilitated through the Revenue Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (25,104 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. 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 at this time.

The CSO published an information note yesterday, April 1st, 2020 for users on the Implications of the COVID-19 emergency payment measures on the Live Register and the Monthly Unemployment Estimates release. 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 emergency payments have not been included on the Live Register for March 2020. Thus, the Live Register has been compiled in the traditional way and the usual tables are included below. The detailed usual commentary on the Live Register tables has not been included here but can be made available to users on request to labour@cso.ie. This Live Register release is accompanied by a Press Statement which is available here Press Statement Live Register March 2020

The unadjusted number of persons on the Live Register in March 2020 published here includes a small number of applicants for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment who have been advised to apply for jobseekers benefits if they have an dependant adult and at least one child, or four or more dependant children in the case of no dependant adult. At this stage is not possible for the CSO to identify those claimants; the Live Register totals for March 2020 may be revised should more information become available later.

 

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 March 2020 was 205,209 persons; this consisted of 113,268 males (55.2%) and 91,941 females (44.8%). Of those on the Live Register for March 2020, 23,397, or 11.4%, are under 25 years of age, while 181,812, or 88.6%, 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 113,268 and 91,941, representing 55.2% and 44.8% of the Live Register total respectively. See table 2a.

A total of 283,037 persons were in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment for the last week of March 2020; this consisted of 135,931 males (48.0%) and 147,106 females (52.0%). Of those claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, 65,057, or 23.0%, are under 25 years of age, while 217,980, or 77.0%, are 25 years of age and over. See table A2.

There were 25,104 persons benefitting from the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme with 12,472 males and 12,632 females representing 49.7% and 50.3% of the total respectively. Of those benefitting from the Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme, 9,213 (36.7%) are under 25 years of age, while 15,891 (63.3%) are 25 years of age and over. See table A2.

 

DurationLess than one yearOne year or more
March 201813763394733
April 201813089392709
May 201812880594697
June 201813328794778
July 201814092393522
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
Under 25 years25 years and over
March 201825038207328
March 201920450171957
March 202023397181812
Broad Occupational GroupMarch 2018March 2019March 2020
1113721011210962
2137601114812845
3725366006941
4260702062021477
5407253296633890
6309162583831587
7238681982419174
8361872961030610
9282912369024846
10139241199912877
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
CategoryMarch 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims16,89119,32025,549+6,229+8,658
    JA Applications84,71177,65481,229+3,575-3,482
    Other Registrants7,5286,6226,490-132-1,038
    Total109,130103,596113,268+9,672+4,138
 
Females
    JB Claims17,67219,38728,443+9,056+10,771
    JA Applications49,69444,95149,067+4,116-627
    Other Registrants15,91114,68214,431-251-1,480
    Total83,27779,02091,941+12,921+8,664
 
All Persons
    JB Claims34,56338,70753,992+15,285+19,429
    JA Applications134,405122,605130,296+7,691-4,109
    Other Registrants23,43921,30420,921-383-2,518
    Total192,407182,616205,209+22,593+12,802
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 1(a) (XLS 40KB)
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Table 1(b) Persons under 25 years of age on the Live Register
CategoryMarch 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims1,2181,4111,848+437+630
    JA Applications10,75410,25111,187+936+433
    Other Registrants583739+2-19
    Total12,03011,69913,074+1,375+1,044
 
Females
    JB Claims1,0591,2482,428+1,180+1,369
    JA Applications7,3126,7387,851+1,113+539
    Other Registrants494744-3-5
    Total8,4208,03310,323+2,290+1,903
 
All Persons
    JB Claims2,2772,6594,276+1,617+1,999
    JA Applications18,06616,98919,038+2,049+972
    Other Registrants1078483-1-24
    Total20,45019,73223,397+3,665+2,947
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 1(b) (XLS 42KB)
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Table 1(c) Persons 25 years of age and over on the Live Register
CategoryMarch 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual change
Males
    JB Claims15,67317,90923,701+5,792+8,028
    JA Applications73,95767,40370,042+2,639-3,915
    Other Registrants7,4706,5856,451-134-1,019
    Total97,10091,897100,194+8,297+3,094
 
Females
    JB Claims16,61318,13926,015+7,876+9,402
    JA Applications42,38238,21341,216+3,003-1,166
    Other Registrants15,86214,63514,387-248-1,475
    Total74,85770,98781,618+10,631+6,761
 
All Persons
    JB Claims32,28636,04849,716+13,668+17,430
    JA Applications116,339105,616111,258+5,642-5,081
    Other Registrants23,33221,22020,838-382-2,494
    Total171,957162,884181,812+18,928+9,855
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 1(c) (XLS 38KB)
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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
2018March132,58199,785232,366131,600100,500232,100
 April128,34995,253223,602129,10099,200228,300
 May127,69995,803223,502127,10097,900225,000
 June126,981101,084228,065124,50096,300220,800
 July126,252108,193234,445122,50095,100217,600
 August123,354101,804225,158120,20093,600213,800
 September115,89089,840205,730118,50092,700211,200
 October112,39786,850199,247117,20091,700208,900
 November110,83685,425196,261115,30090,700206,000
 December112,41487,255199,669113,40089,700203,100
 
2019January113,15486,473199,627111,60088,400200,000
 February111,31785,617196,934109,60087,200196,700
 March109,13083,277192,407108,80086,500195,200
 April107,76585,353193,118108,00086,700194,700
 May107,01882,849189,867106,70085,000191,800
 June108,27388,835197,108106,10084,400190,500
 July108,93697,460206,396105,50084,400189,900
 August107,84991,244199,093105,20083,500188,700
 September103,54880,235183,783105,70083,100188,900
 October100,96179,498180,459105,50084,100189,600
 November100,65976,895177,554104,70082,100186,800
 December102,87879,118181,996103,80081,500185,200
 
2020January104,60579,150183,755103,00081,000184,000
 February103,59679,020182,616102,20080,600182,800
 March113,26891,941205,209 112,60094,600207,200
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 2(a) (XLS 41KB)
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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
2018March14,80610,23225,03814,90010,50025,400
 April14,3379,78424,12114,60010,30024,900
 May14,48910,14624,63514,40010,20024,600
 June14,65810,79025,44814,0009,90023,900
 July14,61911,36925,98813,7009,80023,500
 August14,58311,05025,63313,5009,60023,100
 September13,2759,39522,67013,2009,30022,500
 October12,3928,66321,05513,0009,20022,200
 November11,8328,18020,01212,7009,10021,900
 December11,7988,12319,92112,5009,00021,600
 
2019January12,3088,56920,87712,4009,00021,300
 February12,2448,62420,86812,2008,80021,000
 March12,0308,42020,45012,1008,70020,800
 April11,6788,27119,94911,9008,60020,600
 May11,8918,45620,34711,8008,50020,300
 June12,2939,25521,54811,8008,50020,300
 July12,5009,99022,49011,8008,50020,300
 August12,7269,74522,47111,8008,40020,200
 September11,9498,39320,34211,9008,30020,200
 October11,1997,71918,91811,8008,30020,000
 November11,0007,36218,36211,8008,20020,100
 December11,1007,36918,46911,8008,20020,000
 
2020January11,7387,85319,59111,8008,20020,000
 February11,6998,03319,73211,6008,20019,900
 March13,07410,32323,397 13,10010,70023,800
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 2(b) (XLS 39KB)
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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
2018March117,77589,553207,328 116,70090,000206,700
 April114,01285,469199,481 114,50088,900203,400
 May113,21085,657198,867 112,80087,700200,500
 June112,32390,294202,617 110,50086,400196,900
 July111,63396,824208,457 108,80085,300194,100
 August108,77190,754199,525 106,70084,100190,800
 September102,61580,445183,060 105,30083,400188,700
 October100,00578,187178,192 104,20082,500186,700
 November99,00477,245176,249 102,50081,600184,100
 December100,61679,132179,748 100,80080,700181,500
 
2019January100,84677,904178,750 99,30079,400178,700
 February99,07376,993176,066 97,40078,400175,700
 March97,10074,857171,957 96,70077,800174,500
 April96,08777,082173,169 96,10078,000174,100
 May95,12774,393169,520 94,90076,500171,400
 June95,98079,580175,560 94,30075,900170,200
 July96,43687,470183,906 93,70075,900169,600
 August95,12381,499176,622 93,40075,000168,500
 September91,59971,842163,441 93,80074,800168,600
 October89,76271,779161,541 93,80075,800169,600
 November89,65969,533159,192 92,90073,900166,700
 December91,77871,749163,527 92,00073,300165,200
 
2020January92,86771,297164,164 91,20072,800164,100
 February91,89770,987162,884 90,50072,400162,900
 March100,19481,618181,812 99,50083,900183,400
¹ Table contains revised figures
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 2(c) (XLS 39KB)
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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
2019March16,8913,09813,7933,290 17,6722,54115,1313,310 34,5635,63928,9246,600
 April17,0223,62313,3993,074 19,9975,55714,4402,791 37,0199,18027,8395,865
 May15,9513,75012,2014,305 17,2733,60313,6705,856 33,2247,35325,87110,161
 June16,5883,68612,9022,678 20,9976,48714,5102,272 37,58510,17327,4124,950
 July17,5904,11313,4772,619 27,5959,40118,1942,355 45,18513,51431,6714,974
 August17,1883,86313,3253,718 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
JA Applications
2019March84,7114,31280,3996,153 49,6942,63747,0573,862 134,4056,949127,45610,015
 April83,2484,10979,1395,930 49,2832,99046,2933,700 132,5317,099125,4329,630
 May83,7257,47376,2527,447 49,8625,14844,7144,907 133,58712,621120,96612,354
 June84,3956,34778,0486,008 51,8825,15146,7313,451 136,27711,498124,7799,459
 July84,0825,00479,0785,748 53,3254,62448,7013,476 137,4079,628127,7799,224
 August83,5245,49278,0326,535 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
Other Registrants
2019March7,5281157,413268 15,91123415,677581 23,43934923,090849
 April7,4951627,333253 16,07348015,593462 23,56864222,926715
 May7,3421397,203354 15,71430815,406803 23,05644722,6091,157
 June7,2901267,164219 15,95649715,459425 23,24662322,623644
 July7,2641977,067283 16,54087115,669441 23,8041,06822,736724
 August7,1371556,982342 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
All Schemes
2019March109,1307,525101,6059,711 83,2775,41277,8657,753 192,40712,937179,47017,464
 April107,7657,89499,8719,257 85,3539,02776,3266,953 193,11816,921176,19716,210
 May107,01811,36295,65612,106 82,8499,05973,79011,566 189,86720,421169,44623,672
 June108,27310,15998,1148,905 88,83512,13576,7006,148 197,10822,294174,81415,053
 July108,9369,31499,6228,650 97,46014,89682,5646,272 206,39624,210182,18614,922
 August107,8499,51098,33910,595 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
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 March 2020 Table 3 (XLS 56KB)
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Table 4 Persons on the Live Register classified by region
NUTS2 and NUTS3 Regions¹March 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
      Northern and Western21,88220,45721,582+1,125-3002,36919,213
      Border11,31410,70011,217+517-971,2759,942
      West10,5689,75710,365+608-2031,0949,271
 
      Southern 36,78235,53936,944+1,405+1624,23232,712
      Mid-West11,39410,97311,589+616+1951,37610,213
      South-East12,42012,26512,492+227+721,59110,901
      South-West12,96812,30112,863+562-1051,26511,598
 
     Eastern and Midland50,38447,47749,689+2,212-6955,54744,142
      Dublin28,11626,22927,480+1,251-6362,89324,587
      Mid-East14,05813,36214,054+692-4 1,63112,423
      Midland8,2107,8868,155+269-551,0237,132
      Total109,130103,596113,268+9,672+4,13813,074100,194
 
Females
      Northern and Western17,49216,48518,066+1,581+5741,90216,164
      Border8,9638,4189,153+735+1901,0648,089
      West8,5298,0678,913+846+3848388,075
 
      Southern 28,12327,21929,437+2,218+1,3143,18226,255
      Mid-West8,2967,8188,725+907+4291,0167,709
      South-East9,6119,3969,701+305+901,1288,573
      South-West10,21610,00511,011+1,006+7951,0389,973
 
     Eastern and Midland37,57835,16437,652+2,488+743,75433,898
      Dublin19,16017,98919,139+1,150-211,76817,371
      Mid-East11,58410,89411,802+908+2181,14910,653
      Midland6,8346,2816,711+430-1238375,874
      Total83,27779,02091,941+12,921+8,66410,32381,618
 
All Persons
      Northern and Western39,37436,94239,648+2,706+2744,27135,377
      Border20,27719,11820,370+1,252+932,33918,031
      West19,09717,82419,278+1,454+1811,93217,346
 
      Southern 64,90562,75866,381+3,623+1,4767,41458,967
      Mid-West19,69018,79120,314+1,523+6242,39217,922
      South-East22,03121,66122,193+532+1622,71919,474
      South-West23,18422,30623,874+1,568+6902,30321,571
 
     Eastern and Midland87,96282,64187,341+4,700-6219,30178,040
      Dublin47,27644,21846,619+2,401-6574,66141,958
      Mid-East25,64224,25625,856+1,600+2142,78023,076
      Midland15,04414,16714,866+699-1781,86013,006
      Total2192,407182,616205,209+22,593+12,80223,397181,812
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 March 2020 Table 4 (XLS 41KB)
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Table 5 Persons on the Live Register classified by last held occupation
Broad occupational groupMarch 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
Managers and administrators5,5985,3655,773+408+1751355,638
Professional4,9095,0035,482+479+5732835,199
Associate professional and technical 3,6003,3943,699+305+992723,427
Clerical and secretarial5,5035,2615,681+420+1785415,140
Craft and related 27,76025,96727,896+1,929+1362,33125,565
Personal and protective service8,6688,38410,235+1,851+1,5671,1759,060
Sales7,1646,5707,004+434-1601,5895,415
Plant and machine operatives21,40119,81921,786+1,967+3852,53219,254
Other occupation17,40116,92918,080+1,151+6792,21315,867
No occupation¹7,1266,9047,632+728+5062,0035,629
Total 109,130103,596113,268+9,672+4,13813,074100,194
 
Females
Managers and administrators4,5144,5965,189+593+6751185,071
Professional6,2396,5627,363+801+1,1243297,034
Associate professional and technical 3,0002,9393,242+303+2421753,067
Clerical and secretarial15,11714,47715,796+1,319+67976615,030
Craft and related 5,2065,0865,994+908+7887285,266
Personal and protective service17,17016,00321,352+5,349+4,1822,67918,673
Sales12,66011,34912,170+821-4901,90510,265
Plant and machine operatives8,2097,3668,824+1,458+6151,2507,574
Other occupation6,2896,0736,766+693+4771,0545,712
No occupation¹4,8734,5695,245+676+3721,3193,926
Total83,27779,02091,941+12,921+8,66410,32381,618
 
All Persons
Managers and administrators10,1129,96110,962+1,001+85025310,709
Professional11,14811,56512,845+1,280+1,69761212,233
Associate professional and technical 6,6006,3336,941+608+3414476,494
Clerical and secretarial20,62019,73821,477+1,739+8571,30720,170
Craft and related 32,96631,05333,890+2,837+9243,05930,831
Personal and protective service25,83824,38731,587+7,200+5,7493,85427,733
Sales19,82417,91919,174+1,255-6503,49415,680
Plant and machine operatives29,61027,18530,610+3,425+1,0003,78226,828
Other occupation23,69023,00224,846+1,844+1,1563,26721,579
No occupation¹11,99911,47312,877+1,404+8783,3229,555
Total 192,407182,616205,209+22,593+12,80223,397181,812
¹ Includes those who never worked and those who have no stated occupation
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 5 (XLS 41KB)
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Table 6 Persons on the Live Register classified by duration of continuous registration
DurationMarch 2019February 2020March 2020Monthly changeAnnual changeUnder 25 years25 years & over
Males
   Less than one year64,11364,32973,961+9,632+9,84810,47463,487
   One year or more45,01739,26739,307+40-5,7102,60036,707
   Total109,130103,596113,268+9,672+4,13813,074100,194
 
Females
   Less than one year52,18751,41664,283+12,867+12,0968,73355,550
   One year or more31,09027,60427,658+54-3,4321,59026,068
   Total83,27779,02091,941+12,921+8,66410,32381,618
 
All Persons
   Less than one year116,300115,745138,244+22,499+21,94419,207119,037
   One year or more76,10766,87166,965+94-9,1424,19062,775
   Total192,407182,616205,209+22,593+12,80223,397181,812
Open in Excel: Live Register March 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
2018March24,909-550 24,557-301 49,466-851
 April24,188-721 23,939-618 48,127-1,339
 May23,493-695 23,424-515 46,917-1,210
 June22,872-621 23,116-308 45,988-929
 July22,290-582 22,855-261 45,145-843
 August21,492-798 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
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 Table 7 (XLS 41KB)
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Table 8 Persons on the Live Register classified by nationality grouping
  Nationality grouping
  Non-Irish nationals     
  United KingdomEU14_2020 excl. IRL1EU15-EU27_20201Other  Non-Irish nationalsIrish nationalsAll Persons
2018March9,0072,78222,7066,761 41,256191,110232,366
 April8,6952,64621,8346,699 39,874183,728223,602
 May8,7552,64721,3707,024 39,796183,706223,502
 June8,8262,63021,1027,335 39,893188,172228,065
 July8,9462,61021,0287,312 39,896194,549234,445
 August8,6452,60020,1937,149 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
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 March 2020 Table 8 (XLS 45KB)
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Annex Table A1 - Number of persons availing of Activation Programmes
 February 2019January 2020February 2020
Back to Work Schemes    
Back to Work Enterprise allowance scheme -self employed strand6,0754,0373,930
Short-term Enterprise Allowance1 286261271
Total Back to Work payments 6,3614,2984,201
 
Other Activation Programmes    
DSP Part-time Job Incentive287182177
TUS - Community Work Placement Initiative (2011)6,3835,5625,502
Total Other Activation Programmes6,6705,7445,679
     
Community Employment Schemes (excluding Supervisors)21,38821,09321,131
 
SOLAS (FAS) Full Time Training for Unemployed People5,5457,3417,880
     
Back to Education Courses    
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)23,0192,7322,704
Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)8,6657,1216,867
Total Back to Education Courses3 11,6849,8539,571
     
Total Activation Programmes51,64848,32948,462
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. Includes MOMENTUM participants from February 2013.
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 - Annex (XLS 36KB)
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Table A2 Number of persons on the Live Register and number in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment1, and the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme1, March 2020
CategoryLive RegisterPandemic Unemployment Payment Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy SchemeLive Register and COVID-19 Related Payments Total
Males
    Under 25 years of age13,07428,4002,93244,406
    25 years of age and over100,194107,5319,540217,265
    Total113,268135,93112,472261,671
 
Females
    Under 25 years of age10,32336,6576,28153,261
    25 years of age and over81,618110,4496,351198,418
    Total91,941147,10612,632251,679
 
All Persons
    Under 25 years of age23,39765,0579,21397,667
    25 years of age and over181,812217,98015,891415,683
    Total205,209283,03725,104513,350
Source: Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Revenue Commissioners
1 Not included in the Live Register
Open in Excel: Live Register March 2020 – Table A2 (XLS 35KB)
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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 1st 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.

Reference Period

The reference periods for the Live Register results are as follows

March 2020 – 1st March 2020 to 28th March 2020

March 2019 - 3rd March 2019 to 30th March 2019

From May 2015 (reference period) the reference period 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).

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, which is published two days before the Live Register.

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 21st of 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/liveregistermarch2020/

Contact:

Central Statistics Office
Skehard Road, Cork T12 X00E, Ireland

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

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