Number of people on live register drops again in November

The number of people on the seasonally adjusted live register dropped to 174,100 last month, which is down 1,400 or 0.8 per cent compared with October.

On an unadjusted basis, the live register total stood at 169,446, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Some 22,005 people benefiting from the EU’s temporary protection directive were included in the live register figures for November 2023, a rise of 65 people from October 2023, it said. Most of this number relates to people who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine.

The 35-44 age group made up the largest number of those on the live register at 40,156 people, or 23.7 per cent. Some 54.7 per cent of the total were male, while 68.9 per cent were Irish.

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

However, separate figures published by the CSO earlier this week show the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.8 per cent in November, up from 4.7 per cent in October and a low of 4.1 per cent earlier in the year.

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The 4.8 per cent rate for November, which is still low by historical standards, corresponded to 132,700 individuals and an annual increase of 12,600.

Three counties saw an increase in the number of people on the live register in the 12 months to November 2023, the CSO said. Meath saw a 5 per cent climb and Leitrim recorded a 4.2 per cent rise, while the total in Sligo edged up 0.2 per cent. All other counties saw a decrease during this period.

Some 108,217 people have been on the live register for less than one year.

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