Just 5 and a half thousand people across the Shannonside Northern Sound region remain on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as it begins the process of winding down.
5,444 people received the payment locally yesterday along with 109,000 others nationally, with almost 30 million euro lodged to bank accounts across the country.
1,151 people in the region closed their claim this week, many of them students as new rules on the payment mean full-time students for the 2021/22 academic year cannot claim the support.
314 people returned to work or education this week in Monaghan, with 1,414 still on the payment in the county.
Roscommon and Cavan had the next highest closure rate this week at 295 and 293 respectively, with 1,140 and 1,476 left on the support in the two counties.
Just 631 people are left on the PUP in Leitrim, down 133 from last week.
While Longford recorded 783 payments yesterday, with 116 people cancelling their claim.
The Pandemic Unemployment payment has begun its 6 month wind-down plan, with the support set to be fully eliminated by February 2022.
