The number of Idahoans who filed a continued claim for regular state unemployment insurance benefits increased 14 percent for the week ending Jan. 2 to 13,338, up 1,632 over the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims increased from 11,028 for the week ending Dec. 26 to 11,725.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits totaled 4,612 for the week ending Jan. 2, up by 386 claims, while the four-week moving average decreased by 3 percent to 4,219.

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 Jan. 2, the same amount as week ending Dec. 26. Regular state benefit payouts were $3.4 million, up $.5 million from the previous week and 18 percent higher than the same week in 2020.

Federally funded CARES Act payouts for payments for the week ending Jan. 2 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 $243,600.

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