There were 171,300 people on the seasonally adjusted live register in January 2026, including 20,960 people under the age of 25, figures published by the CSO on Monday show.
The unadjusted Live Register total stood at 170,674 people for January 2026, an increase of 5,439 people or 3.3% when compared with January 2025. The 25-34 years age group made up the largest number of those on the Live Register in January 2026 at 41,139 people or 24.1% of the total.
Dublin saw the largest percentage increases in the number of people on the Live Register in the 12 months to January 2026 with 47,086 people signing on, up 10.1% on the 42,781 recorded a year previous. In Cork, there were 13,813 people on the register in January, compared to 13,437 in January 2025. Across Munster, some 41,461 were recorded on the live register, compared to 40,572 in January 2025.
“The unadjusted Live Register total for January 2026 was 170,674. When seasonal effects are considered, the seasonally adjusted Live Register total for January 2026 was 171,300 or 1,200 fewer people than December 2025,” said CSO statistician Conor Delves.
The number of people on the Live Register for one year or more in January was 53,200, which was 3,662 fewer people (-6.4%) than in January 2025. In January 2026, there were 117,474 people on the Live Register for less than one year, which was 9,101 more people (+8.4%) than in January 2025.
There were 12,594 people benefitting from the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive included in the Live Register figures for January 2026, which was 419 more people than December 2025.
