The number of people claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has increased by just over 3 per cent compared to last week according to the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection.
In total, 475,364 people receive the PUP this week, an increase from 459,921 last week, amounting to €142.86 million.
According to the Department, this figure is in addition to the 189,860 now on the live register.
The largest number of workers claiming the PUP came from the Accommodation and Food Services sector (111,569), followed by Wholesale and Retail (75,861) and Construction (61,159).
Construction also saw the largest weekly increase compared to other sectors, with 4,942 additional workers receiving the payment than last week.
Dublin recorded the highest number of people in receipt of the payment this week (147,191), before Cork (48,731), Galway (25,130) and Kildare (21,063).
The Department also stated 10,000 workers closed their PUP claims over the past seven days, 6,749 of whom said they were doing so as they were returning to work.
Dublin had the highest number of people ending their PUP claim with 1,717, followed by Cork with 721.
The statement from the Department also warned that some people have received scam text messages from unknown numbers, claiming to be from Revenue.
The text asks recipients to click a link to claim their €350 payment, but the Department advises recipients should not click the link or reply, adding they will never request bank account or other financial details via text messages or social media.
Minister for Social Protection Heath Humphreys said: "These are sophisticated scams. I urge customers of my Department to be cautious and to ensure that they only use official Departmental websites at all times.
“Anyone who thinks they provided personal information in response to these fraudulent text messages should contact their bank immediately.”
