The seasonally adjusted Live Register total for May 2026 was 171,800 people, up by 600 people from April 2026.
The unadjusted Live Register total stood at 167,107 people for May 2026, of which 56.5% were male and 71.6% were Irish. This is an increase of 4,838 people or 3.0% when compared with May 2025.
The 25-34 years age group made up the largest number of those on the Live Register in May 2026 at 40,304 people or 24.1% of the total.
The counties that recorded the largest percentage increases in the number of people on the Live Register in the 12 months to May 2026 were Limerick (+8.0%) and Dublin (+6.7%), while the largest decreases were in Donegal (-4.3%) and Clare (-3.0%).
In May 2026, there were 113,225 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which was 6,737 more people (+6.3%) than in May 2025.
Data in this release are subject to revision based on updates to the seasonally adjusted series whenever new monthly data are added, such revisions are typically very minor in scale. It should be noted that larger revisions can occur when the comprehensive annual review of the seasonal adjustment model is carried out in January of each year. See Background Notes for further details.
The Live Register includes claims for the new Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit (PRB) scheme. The scheme was introduced on Monday 31 March 2025 for persons who became fully unemployed on or after that date. Pay Related Benefit data for April 2025 is now available and Jobseeker’s Benefit data for April 2025 has been revised. Figures by type of Social Welfare Scheme are available on PxStat Tables LRM01 and LRM18.
| Persons on the Live Register - Unadjusted and Seasonally Adjusted | ||
| Live Register Total | Seasonally Adjusted | |
| May 2025 | 162,269 | 166,800 |
| April 2026 | 166,312 | 171,200 |
| May 2026 | 167,107 | 171,800 |
| Change in month | 600 | |
| Change in year | 4,838 | |
The number of Jobseeker’s Benefit claims decreased by 66.6% (-20,360) in May 2026 compared with 12 months earlier.
The number of Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit claims increased by 22,437 in May 2026 compared with 12 months earlier.*
*Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit is a new scheme introduced on 31 March 2025, which has contributed to a reduction in the number of Jobseeker’s Benefit claims year on year to May 2026.
Data up to the end of April 2026 on the number of persons availing of a range of programmes targeted primarily at the long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and other welfare recipients is provided in PxStat table LRM14.
Persons on activation programmes are not counted as part of the monthly Live Register.
Detailed tables relating to the monthly estimates of the number of persons on Live Register classified by NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions are included in the CSO Main Data Dissemination Service LRM17 on PxStat.
Table LRM13 on PxStat includes the Live Register occupational data which is sourced from information collected by the DSP on the most recent occupation of claimants when they sign on the Live Register.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 June 2026) published results from the Live Register for May 2026.
Commenting on today’s release, Conor Delves, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis Section, said:
“The unadjusted Live Register total for May 2026 was 167,107. The seasonally adjusted Live Register total for May 2026 was 171,800 or 600 more people than April 2026.
There were 11,845 people benefitting from the EU's Temporary Protection Directive included in the Live Register figures for May 2026, which was 182 fewer people than April 2026.
The counties that recorded the largest percentage decreases in numbers on the Live Register in the 12 months to May 2026 were Donegal, down 322 people (-4.3%) and Clare, down 108 people (-3.0%). The counties that recorded the largest percentage increases were Limerick, up 499 people (+8.0%), and Dublin, up 2,973 people (+6.7%). (see PxStat table LRM15).
The number of people on the Live Register for one year or more in May 2026 was 53,882, which was 1,899 fewer people (-3.4%) than in May 2025. There were 113,225 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which was 67.8% of the total number of people on the Live Register.”