Almost 348,300 people will receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week, with many also due a double payment reflecting the Christmas bonus.
That is according to the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection.
The fall in the number of PUP claimants this week of 3,168 appears relatively low, considering the reopening of the economy and the lifting of Level 5 restrictions.
However, a total of 28,682 claimants closed their claims over the last seven days, with 25,350 stating they were returning to work. That more significant fall will be reflected in next week's figures.
Almost two thirds of those returning to work are female.
The PUP unemployment figures do not include the 194,058 people reported on the Live Register as of the end of November.
This week's standard PUP payments will cost €102.67m, down from €103.65m last week.
However, an extra €83.14m is being disbursed to just over 283,000 recipients eligible for the one-off double payment for the Christmas bonus.
In total, 1.6m social welfare recipients will receive bonus payments worth €390m, which should hit most bank accounts tomorrow.
Normally social welfare recipients must have been unemployed for over 12 months to qualify for the bonus.
However, this year on an exceptional basis, the bonus is being paid to PUP recipients who have claimed the payment for at least 17 weeks (not necessarily continuously) since it was launched, and were claiming it in the week between 27 November and 3 December.
The Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys noted the importance of Christmas for key sectors, saying: "It is reassuring to see businesses reopening again in sectors that have been really badly hit by the Pandemic: The likes of retail, accommodation, food services and beauty salons."
She noted that between this week's Christmas bonus, and last week's PUP arrears, the Department had paid out over half a billion euro in supports.
"I am again encouraging people to spend this money locally. That way, you are helping your local economy and supporting small businesses," the minister said.
She also reminded workers that PUP will remain open in March, and will be available to anyone who returns to work only to find their employer forced to close again in the New Year.
"I encourage all workers who have the opportunity to do so to return to work - just as we needed your support to suppress the virus we now need it to reopen our economy," she noted.
The Department said that any employer experiencing difficulties in re-hiring staff can contact the Department at c19employerreports@welfare.ie, or employer@welfare.ie.
The sectors with the highest number of people claiming PUP remain Accommodation and Food Service Activities (101,335), Wholesale and Retail Trade (55,173) and Other Sectors, for example hairdressers and beauty salons (31,008).
The top sectors from which employees closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment to return to work are Wholesale and Retail Trade (7,298), Other Sectors, like hairdressers and beauty salons (6,635), Accommodation and Food Service Activities (3,968), and Administrative and Support Service Activities (1,077).
Dublin had the greatest number of people closing their claims (6,441), followed by Cork (3,265), Galway (1,458), Kildare (1,244) and Wexford (1,019).
