THERE has been a further reduction in the number of people in Donegal receiving Pandemic Unemployment Payments.
In the last week, the number of people in the county on PUP fell by just over three percent.
This week, 4,385 PUPs were processed in Donegal – down from 4,540 last week.
At the height of the pandemic in May 2020, there were 22,594 in Donegal receiving PUPs.
This week, the Department of Social Protection issued weekly payments valued at €44.2 million to 149,436 people in receipt of PUPs.
The greatest reduction this week is in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.
The PUP figures published this week are in addition to the 184,213 people who were on the Live Register at the end of July.
Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys said: “The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is at its lowest level since the introduction of the support.
“We are seeing week-by-week reductions in the number of people receiving the PUP – reflecting the steady progress we are making in rolling out the vaccination programme and the continued re-opening of the economy.”
In line with the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, the PUP will be gradually reduced on a tapered basis over a 6 month period until February 2022 to align it with the standard jobseekers payments. This transition commences in September 2021.
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