The number of people in Donegal on the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has fallen to a new low this week.
8,500 people in the county will receive the emergency payment today (Tuesday).
This represents a 63% drop on the 22,700 paid in Donegal at the peak of the crisis in 5th May.
The top three sectors in which employees are returning to work this week are Accommodation and Food Services; Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles; and Construction.
The largest cohort returning to work is aged under 25 years.
Nationwide, the Department of Social Protection is making payments valued at €85.2m to 274,600 people today for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).
Employees whose average weekly earnings in 2019 or January and February 2020 (whichever is the higher) were less than €200 gross will receive a weekly Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €203 a week.
Employees with average earnings of €200 or more a week will continue to receive €350 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
As well as those availing of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, there are now over 69,470 employers who have registered with the Revenue Commissioners for the Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). An estimated 390,000 employees are currently being supported by the scheme having received a subsidy in their most recent pay period.
The above payments are in addition to the 220,900 people who were reported on the Live Register as of the end of June. All Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments issued will be in recipients’ bank accounts or at their local post office today, Tuesday, 4th August.
The Department continues to remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).
In order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly, workers who are returning to work must close their claim for the PUP payment on the actual date that they start back at work.
The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via www.mywelfare.ie. Any worker returning to work with an enquiry about closing their claim, can contact the Department’s dedicated income support helpline at 1890 800 024 (Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm).
