Irish COVID-19 jobless claims level off ahead of reopening
DUBLIN (Reuters) - The number of people in Ireland claiming temporary coronavirus-related jobless benefits rose by just 0.5% this week, data showed on Monday, the slowest pace since the introduction of strict COVID-19 curbs that are set to be eased from next week.
Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) claims rose to 352,078, from 350,072 a week ago, meaning the limiting of restaurants to takeaway-only and closing of non-essential retail from Oct. 21 has added 107,000 new recipients, far fewer so far than the 150,000 estimated by the government when it introduced the new restrictions.
Non-essential retailers look set to reopen next week and restaurants are pushing to be permitted to resume indoor dining. PUP claims hit a low of 206,000 when most restaurants and pubs were open at the start of October, cutting the unemployment rate to 15.9% before it rose back above 20%.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Alex Richardson)
