SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 9, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah’s new unemployment claims for the week of March 29 to April 4 reached 33,076, a report released Thursday says.
That’s a 15.8% percent increase over last week, and a 2824.5% of the average weekly claim for 2019. The joblessness follows business closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We continue to receive new claims at an unprecedented level,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which released the report.
A total of $6,881,153 was paid in benefits reflecting payments going out and claims being processed in the midst of a record volume.
“The Unemployment Insurance Division staff’s priority is getting payments out,” Burt said. “Amidst this workload, the team stands out as one of the first states in the nation to make federal stimulus programs available.”
As announced by the Governor, Utah is one of the first states in the country to make the $600 stimulus program available. Claimants will see it included in their weekly benefit payments moving forward and retroactively for those that received a payment this week.
Additionally, the application for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance making benefits available for self-employed people and others who aren’t eligible for traditional unemployment benefits will be available at jobs.utah.gov beginning early next week. Claimants should expect 21-30 days for the processing of these applications.
The number of people who ended their unemployment insurance claim on March 28, 2020 was 1,112. A total of 1,113 ended their claim during the previous week. As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, this number will help demonstrate the number of people no longer accessing unemployment benefits.
Percentages by field, location
The three industries that saw the highest percentage of claims this week, as self-identified by the claimant at the time of their filing, were:
- Office and administrative Support (12.9%)
- Sales and related Occupations (11.4%)
- Personal care and service (10.2%)
The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of people file new unemployment insurance claims were:
- Salt Lake (43.3%)
- Utah (14.8%)
- Davis (9.1%)
- Weber (7.6%)
- Washington (5.3%)
If your employment has been impacted by COVID-19, you should visit
jobs.utah.gov/covid19 to find resources and regularly updated FAQs as the
department recognizes this is the first time for many filing for unemployment benefits.
Workshops are also available twice daily to help with this process. People should apply online and take the time to complete their application fully, the department’s statement says.
To hear an audio presentation by Burt, click the link below.
