Number of people on PUP falls by almost 30,000 this week 

Business Minister Heather Humphreys said: "We seeing reductions in the number of people receiving the PUP in every county and across all occupations."

More people ended their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) this week than in any week previously this year, as the retail sector reopened and people returned to work.

The past seven days saw 25,824 people close their PUP claim stating that they were doing so because they are returning to employment.

New figures show that the number of people in receipt of PUP has fallen by almost 30,000 this week.

The Department of Social Protection said that 333,993 people were in receipt of PUP this week, with more than €102m in payments being paid into bank accounts today.

It represents a decrease of 29,174 people compared to last week.

Dublin and Cork are the two counties with the highest number of people who are receiving PUP this week.

Some 111,566 people were in receipt of the Covid-payment in Dublin, followed by Cork (32,317) and Galway (18,290).

The Accommodation and Food Service sector has the highest number of people receiving PUP this week, with 93,687.

This was followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (54,391) and Administrative and Support Service Activities (30,603).

Under current restrictions, restaurants and bars are only allowed to offer take-away services.

The retail sector has only just reopened, with shops opening fully on May 17.

Return to work

The Department said that Dublin had the greatest number of people closing their claims to return to work with 6,710. This was followed by Cork (3,002) and Galway (1,358).

Wholesale and Retail Trade (7,441), Other Sectors, which includes hairdressing and beauty salons (5,855), and Accommodation and Food Service activities sector (3,113) were the sector with the largest number of employees closing their PUP claims.

Hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons all reopened on May 10.

The Department has reminded people who are returning to work that they must close their claim for PUP “on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly and to avoid incurring an overpayment that the Department will take steps to recover”.

Commenting on the figures, Heather Humphreys said: “Over the past fortnight, the number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen by about 50,000.

“The figures that I am publishing today include the largest number of people to close their claim in a single week since the year began.

“We are also seeing reductions in the number of people receiving the PUP in every county and across all occupations.

“These are all really positive signs and reflect the impact of sectors such as retail re-opening in full.”