Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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28. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will indicate the trends in the numbers seeking jobseeker payments; the number who are being facilitated into pathways of training and work experience; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6100/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As of the end of January, the Live Register, which consists of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit and Credits, stood at around 184,700. This figure includes around 22,900 Beneficiaries of the Temporary Protection Directive for Ukraine. Excluding these, the Live Register stands at around 161,900, which is markedly lower than the corresponding pre-pandemic level of around 183,800 in January 2020.

Of the nearly 185,000 individuals currently on the Live Register, the proportion of long-term unemployed (over a year) is 33 percent, down from 36.8 percent in January 2020.

At the beginning of April 2022, the Live Register increased as the remaining recipients of the PUP were supported in their transition off the scheme. From this point, the Live Register declined, in line with the general labour market recovery, aside from normal seasonal increases experienced in the summer. Increases in recent months are a result of supports provided to those arriving from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive.

The relatively low numbers on the Live Register are a consequence of the strong labour market with most recent CSO figures for January indicating an unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. Since the Pandemic Unemployment Payment closed at the end of March 2022, the unemployment rate has remained below 5 percent.

In respect of supports for jobseekers, the main training and work experience programme the Department operates is the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP). The WPEP provides jobseekers with the opportunity to gain a quality work placement experience, increase their employability, and develop new skills. However, owing to the tight labour market, fewer jobseekers have availed of this support than had been expected. As of the end of January, 539 individuals have participated, or are due to shortly start on the programme since it commenced in July 2021. At the end of December 2022, the Department supported 3,846 participants on the Back to Education Allowance.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science also provides supports to individuals to retrain and upskill. Since the launch of Pathways to Work, in July 2021 until the end of December 2022, there have been 23,334 people who were long-term unemployed commencing in Further and Higher Education programmes.

My Department will continue to provide assistance to all those who may need help to return to employment, education or training.