There are just over 10,000 people in Galway still in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, as the economy continues to reopen.
The latest data from the Department of Social Protection shows that the number of PUP recipients in Galway is down 547 compared to last week, falling to 10,159.
Galway remains the county with the third highest level of people in receipt of PUP, as it has throughout the pandemic, behind Dublin (71,981) and Cork (17,053).
Nationwide, the number of people on the pandemic unemployment payment has fallen below 200,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
“To put this into context, there were over 481,000 people relying on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in early February of this year – the last time the virus reached a peak,” said Heather Humphreys, Minister for Social Protection.
“That number has now fallen by around 60% – clearly demonstrating the progress we are making in reopening our economy and getting our citizens back to work.”
PUP numbers fell by 9,800 this week, with the largest share of those in the hospitality sector, where there were 3,000 fewer people out of work due to COVID-19.
With indoor hospitality resuming this week, that number should continue to fall sharply in the weeks ahead as businesses resume more operations.
Minister Humphreys said that she wished to pay “particular tribute” to the hospitality industry as indoor dining returned.
“This has been an extremely difficult few months for this sector. That’s why Government has maintained the range of supports in place for businesses and their employees.”
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.
