Press Release
May 21, 2020

Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Claims Report (May 10-16)

SALT LAKE CITY (May 21, 2020) — The number of new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 6,275 for the week of May 10-16, 2020. There were 101,389 weekly claims filed during that same week. A total of $26,858,365 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits reflecting payments going out and claims being processed in the midst of a record volume. An additional $48,667,041 of the $600 weekly stimulus was paid out to claimants, for a total of $75,525,406 in unemployment benefits for the week. A total of 2,604 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were submitted.

Traditional Unemployment Insurance Claims May 10-16
	Total New Claims	% Change (+/-)	Total Weekly Claims	% Change (+/-)	State Benefits Paid	% Change (+/-)	$600 Stimulus Paid
05/10/20 to 05/16/20	6,275		101,389		$26,858,365		$48,667,041
			Combined Benefits		$75,525,406
Week over Week	7,135	-12%	106,377	-5%	$27,845,417	-3.5%	$50,711,110
Average Weekly 2019	1,131	455%	8,856	1,045%	$2,876,354	834%
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Claims May 10-16					Total Combined Claims March 15 to May 16, 2020
	Total New Claims	% Change (+/-)	Total Benefits Paid	% Change (+/-)		Total Claims	Total Benefits Paid
05/10/20 to 05/16/20	2,604		$5,688,924		Traditional	160,285	$382,758,711
Week over Week	2,787	-6.6%	$3,603,951	58%	PUA	24,368	$11,045,766

The number of individuals who ended their unemployment insurance claim on May 9, 2020 was 6,583. A total of 4,176 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.

“We continue to be encouraged by the number of individuals ending their unemployment insurance claims as our economy dials back up,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “We are also encouraged by the consistent number of weekly claims, yet decreased benefits paid out. This is likely a reflection of individuals gradually returning to work and taking less in their weekly benefit amount.”

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 (15%), Production Occupations (9%), and Sales and Related Occupations (8%).

The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of individuals file new unemployment insurance claims were Salt Lake (43%), Utah (14%), Davis (8%), Weber (7%), and Washington (4%).

If an individual's employment has been impacted by COVID-19 they should visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19 for updated information including help for employees and employers returning to work.

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