The number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment fell by over 17,600 over the last week to 403,000 - reflecting a gradual easing of restrictions and return to work.
This week's payments of almost €120 million bring the cost of the PUP scheme to date to over €7.3 billion. More than 14,500 closed their PUP account to return to work.
The number of PUP recipients does not include a further 183,000 people who were on the Live Register at the end of March. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys described the fall in PUP claims as an encouraging indicator that people were returning to work as restrictions eased, and forecast that there would be a steady improvement in employment numbers as the country moved out of the