Continued Claims for Unemployment Benefits Increase Slightly

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Nov. 19, 2020
Media Contact: Craig Shaul, Craig.Shaul@labor.idaho.gov or Salvador Vazquez, Salvador.Vazquez@labor.idaho.gov

The number of Idahoans who filed a continued claim for regular state unemployment insurance benefits increased two percent for the week ending Nov. 14 to 8,310, up 167 more than the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims increased slightly – from 8,127 for the week ending Nov. 7 to 8,150.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled 5,060 for the week ending Nov. 14, up by 52 claims, while the four-week moving average increased by 11 percent to 4,462.

An increase in initial claims and continued claims for regular state benefits is normal for November, December and January due to the ongoing seasonality of Idaho’s economy. Claims related to COVID-19 may disrupt or exacerbate this normal seasonal pattern.

The department paid out $5.6 million in claims during the week ending Nov. 14, down from the $5.8 million for the week ending Nov 7. Regular state benefit payouts were $1.8 million, the same as the previous week, but 1.8 times higher than the same week in 2019.

Federally funded CARES Act payouts for payments for the week ending Nov. 14 include Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) payments of $1.3 million, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) at $2.3 million and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) at $200,000.

Total benefit payments to laid-off Idahoans attributed to COVID-19 have reached $918.7 million. Regular state unemployment insurance benefits make up $212 million of the total. Benefits paid by the federal CARES Act programs reached $706.7 million for the week ending Nov. 14 and include PEUC benefits at $41.3 million, PUA benefits at $83.1 million, FPUC benefits at $539.7 million and Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) benefits at $42.6 million. LWA payments ended Sept. 30.

For more information on weekly claims for regular unemployment insurance, including details at county and industry levels, please visit Idaho’s UI claims data dashboard at https://lmi.idaho.gov/ui-weekly-claims

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