The Live Register stood at 178,996 in March, an increase of 15,748 people, or close to 10% compared to February, the latest Central Statistics Office figures show.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number rose by 10.3% to 181,900. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) ended in March and those who were on the payment are now either being moved to Jobseeker's payments or have had their payments stopped.
The number of people on the PUP in February was 53,809. Today’s release also contained figures for the number of people whose jobs are supported by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in February.
The total number of people on the EWSS in February was 258,952, down from 363,180 in January. The total number of people on the Live Register, EWSS or PUP in February was 465,634.