The number of Idahoans who filed a continued claim for regular state unemployment insurance benefits increased 4 percent for the week ending Dec. 26 to 11,706, up 481 over the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims increased from 10,412 for the week ending Dec. 19 to 11,028.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled 4,226 for the week ending Dec. 26, up by 270 claims, while the four-week moving average increased by 1 percent to 4,335.

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 $6.6 million in claims during the week ending Dec. 26, down 1 percent from the week ending Dec. 19. Regular state benefit payouts were $2.9 million, the same amount as the previous week and 44 percent higher than the same week in 2019.

Federally funded CARES Act payouts for payments for the week ending Dec. 26 include Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) payments of $.8 million, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) at $2.6 million and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) at $238,200.

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

– Idaho Department of Labor