Over 7,000 fewer people in Kerry are claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment compared to this week last year.
This is according to the latest data from the Department of Social Protection.
On May 4th last year, 22,217 people in Kerry claimed the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as they had lost their jobs due to COVID-19; it remains the highest weekly total in Kerry to date.
This week, the number of people in the county claiming PUP stands at 15,232.
That's down from 15,776 the previous week.
430 people in the county informed the department they were closing their PUP payment and returning to work; that's a decrease of 27 on last week's figure.
One more person in Kerry claimed the Enhanced Illness Benefit due to having COVID-19 or needing to self-isolate.
To date, 3,328 people in the county have claimed this payment.
