There are now under 6,000 people in Galway in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection show.
A total of 5,977 people in the county have received payments this week, down from 7,399 last week and down from 25,603 at its 2021 peak in February.
The national PUP figures have now fallen by almost 500,000 since the number of workers on the payment peaked at over 600,000 in May 2020.
A total of 114,600 people received the PUP this week, a fall of 25,526 on last week with the Accommodation and Food Services sector seeing the highest number of people return to work.
Commenting today, Minister Heather Humphreys said that throughout the summer months, there has been a continuous steady decrease in the number of people relying on the payment.
“The number of people in receipt of the PUP has now fallen by almost 500,000 since the peak in mid 2020,” said Minister Humphreys.
“The economy is now substantially reopened and it is really encouraging to see businesses actively advertising for and hiring new staff.
“Through the government’s Pathways to Work strategy we want to support people through training, further education and reskilling opportunities to give them the tools and most importantly the confidence to get back to work.”
