During the week of Feb. 21-27, a total of 372 initial weekly claims for state unemployment benefits were processed by the Department of Labor and Regulation. This is a decrease of 124 claims from the prior week’s total of 496.
A total of $1.3 million was paid out in state benefits, in addition to $1.6 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), $98,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and $324,000 in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits.
The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was $153.7 million on Feb. 28.
The latest number of continued state claims is 6,033 for the week ending Feb. 20, an increase of 534 from the prior week’s total of 5,499. This indicates the number of unemployed workers eligible for and receiving benefits after their initial claim.
Benefits paid since March 16, 2020:
· Regular State = $104.0 million
· FPUC = $220.8 million
· PUA = $19.2 million
· PEUC = $6.3 million
Total = Approximately $350.3 million
Nationally…..
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits edged higher last week to 745,000, a sign that many employers continue to cut jobs despite a drop in confirmed viral infections and evidence that the overall economy is improving. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims rose by 9,000 from the previous week. Though the pace of layoffs has eased since the year began, they remain high by historical standards. Before the virus flattened the U.S. economy a year ago, applications for unemployment aid had never topped 700,000 in any week, even during the Great Recession. All told, 4.3 million Americans are receiving traditional state unemployment benefits.
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