PUP recipients fall by 4,400 in a week as further employees return to work

Largest reduction this week is in the area of Accommodation and Food Services sector

The number of recipients has fallen by almost 70% since February of this year.

Wed, 18 Aug, 2021 - 09:07

Alan Healy

The number of people claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) fell by 4,400 in the past week.

New figures from the Department of Social Protection show more than 153,000 people are still in receipt of the payment. However, the number of recipients has fallen by almost 70% since February of this year.

The greatest reduction this week is in the area of Accommodation and Food Services sector accounting for almost half of the 4,400 who closed their payments.

The PUP figures published this week are in addition to the 184,213 people who were on the Live Register at the end of July.

The PUP bill now stands at €45.4m per week.

“It is heartening to see more people return to work each week as we continue to move cautiously through our recovery from Covid-19," Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys said.