The number of people on the pandemic unemployment payment in Galway has continued to fall, with 1,306 fewer people on PUP here than last week.
There are 16,984 people in Galway receiving PUP today, out of 309,515 nationwide, a decrease of 24,478 people compared to last week.
The figures published today are in addition to the 177,969 people who were on the Live Register at the end of April.
In the week leading up to June 1, 892 people in Galway closed their PUP account with the Department as they will be returning to work. As PUP is paid weekly in arrears, many of these received their final payment this week, and are still counted among the county figures.
The sector which has seen the greatest decline in people on pandemic unemployment this week is Wholesale and Retail Trade with 7,957 fewer people receiving the payment compared to last week.
The sector with the highest number of people still on pandemic unemployment is Accommodation and Food Service activities (90,126), as the hospitality sector has been among the last and slowest to reopen.
There is hope that these numbers will change shorty, as this week marks the start of these businesses reopening.
Hotels and hostels are allowed to reopen from today, and will be followed by outdoor dinging at all bars and restaurants from next Monday, June 7.
The expectation that many people in the hospitality sector will be returning to work can be seen in that 3,483 workers in Accommodation and Food Service activities have closed their accounts in the past week, the second highest level behind Wholesale and Retail Trade (4,086).
