163,400 people are receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week, the lowest figure recorded since the pandemic started.
The figure marks a drop of 29,000 on last week, which saw the resumption of indoor dining.
Just under 7,000 of those who closed their claim work in the accommodation and food service sector, with 4,000 involved in retail.
More than €8.3billion has now been spent on the PUP since it was launched in March 2020.
Locally, more than 600 people in Carlow and Kilkenny have closed their claims in the past week.
4,161 across the two counties received the payment today (Tuesday), down from 4,798 last week.
The number claiming in Carlow is now just below 1,500, down from a peak of more than 7,000 in May 2020 while in Kilkenny the number has dropped from nearly 11,500 at the peak to 2,712 now.
