PUP cost drops further as more staff return to work

The payment will be cut by €50 this week, and is due to be phased out in February of next year

Construction is one of the sectors where a shortage of workers has been reported. The reopening of the economy has led to the weekly cost of the PUP dropping from a high of €140 million last spring to under €20 million per week now. Picture: Getty

The government is set to cut the Pandemic Unemployment Payment by a further €50 this week.

The Business Post has learned that the numbers on the PUP have dropped from around 74,000 at the start of last week to 70,000 now.

But the highest PUP rate of €300 will be reduced to €250 on Tuesday, while those on the PUP rate of €250 a week will be reduced to €203 per week. Those who were ...