SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 23, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — The number of new claims filed for Utah unemployment benefits between April 12 and 18 was 19,751, which is down 4,420, 18%, from the previous week.
Including ongoing claims, there were 95,376 weekly claims filed during that same week, says a report released Thursday by the Utah Division of Workforce Services.
A total of $17,415,394 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits reflecting payments going out and claims being processed in the midst of a record volume, the report says. An additional $42,553,770 of the $600 weekly stimulus was paid out to claimants, for a total of $59,969,164 in unemployment benefits for the week.
A total of 7,062 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were submitted in the first week of the program.
“We are encouraged to see another decrease in new claims filed, though we continue to receive them at record levels,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, in the prepared statement.
“The Utah unemployment insurance system, and the dedicated staff that run it, continues to effectively and efficiently meet the needs of Utahns and we will make every effort to continue to do so.”
The number of those who who ended their unemployment insurance claim on April 11 was 1,906. A total of 1,122 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 individuals no longer accessing unemployment benefits.
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 (13.4%)
- Sales and Related Occupations (11.4%)
- Food Preparation and Serving (9.0%).
The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of individuals file new unemployment insurance claims were:
- Salt Lake (40.4%)
- Utah (13.4%)
- Weber (9.6%)
- Davis (9.4%)
- Washington (4.2%).
Those whose employment has been impacted by COVID-19 should visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19 for updated information. New information has been added to help employees and employers as individuals begin to return to work and leave the unemployment insurance system.
