The number receiving Covid-19 unemployment payment increases by more than 15,000

THE NUMBER OF people in the state receiving Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP) has increased by more than 15,000.

The Department of Social Protection confirmed this morning that 244,153 people are receiving social assistance payments, up from 228,858 people last week.

The value of payments issued today amounts to 65.5 million euros, an increase of 4.1 million euros in the last seven days.

The number of people receiving the payment has increased by 38,560 in the last two weeks, following the implementation of Tier 3 measures across the country.

Level 4 restrictions were introduced in Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan last week in response to the growing number of cases in the border region.

As with the previous week, there was an increase in the number of claimants in all counties during the last seven days.

The number of people who claimed the PUP also increased in all age groups, with the group under 25 years of age having the highest total (60,873) and the highest increase (5,874) of applicants in the last seven days; the second week in a row this happened.

The age group 25 to 34 years old constitutes the second largest number of applicants (55,616), followed by the age group 35 to 44 years (52,334), the age group 45 to 54 years (42,285) and those older than 55 years (33,025).

The sector with the highest number of people receiving a PUP payment this week is Accommodation and Food Services, with 79,369 applicants, an increase of around 10,000 in the last seven days and 28,000 in the last two weeks.