The number of people on the PUP has fallen below 200,000 for the first time since the scheme began.
The number of people claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has fallen to its lowest level ever after indoor hospitality reopened on Monday.
PUP numbers have fallen below 200,000 for first time since the scheme was introduced back in March of 2020.
Just over 192,000 people received the PUP this week, a decrease of over 9,800 on last week.
Over €56.9 million in PUP weekly payments were paid into bank accounts this week, with the overall bill for the PUP now standing at over €8.3 billion.
The largest reduction, of almost 3,000, was in the accommodation and food services sector, followed by wholesale and retail trade and construction, with a reduction of over 1,400 and 900 respectively compared to last week.
The greatest decrease continues to be in the under-25 age group, with 39,144 people receiving the PUP compared with 42,308 last week.
Dublin also continues to be the county with the highest number of people who are receiving the PUP this week at 71,981, followed by Cork at 17,053, and Galway at 10,159.
The PUP figures published this week are in addition to the 175,281 people who were on the Live Register at the end of June.
It comes as indoor dining reopened on Monday for fully vaccinated cohorts, accompanying under 18s, and those who have recently recovered from the virus.
“For the first time since its introduction, the number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen below the 200,000 mark," Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said on Wednesday.
“It also means that the number of PUP recipients is now at its lowest level since the payment was introduced as an emergency measure in March 2020."
Humphreys added that she expects the PUP figures to continue to drop as more people return to work over the coming weeks following the reopening of the hospitality sector.
"As indoor hospitality re-opens safely, I expect the number of people receiving PUP to fall further in the coming weeks as they return to the workplace," she added.
The range of employment supports available for PUP recipients as part of the Government's Pathways to Work strategy is available via
www.gov.ie/pathways.
