The number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen by over 42,000 over the last week as the economy re-opens after Level 5 restrictions were lifted, according to the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection.
306,200 people will receive the PUP this week at a cost of just under €90m - down from €102.67m last week. Over the past seven days, a further 45,997 people closed their PUP claims, with 40,075 doing so to return to work as the Level 5 restrictions were lifted.
As a result, next week's figures are likely to dip well below 300,000. In addition to the 306,200 PUP claimants, a further 194,058 people were reported on the Live Register at the end of November.