Press Release
May 28, 2020
Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Claims Report (May 17-23)
SALT LAKE CITY (May 28, 2020) — The number of new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 5,455 for the week of May 17-23, 2020. There were 97,570 weekly claims filed during that same week. A total of $26,427,924 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits. An additional $48,804,420 of the $600 weekly stimulus was paid out to claimants, as well as $760,779 in federally funded extended benefit payments, for a total of $75,993,123 in unemployment benefits for the week. A total of 2,278 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were submitted.
|
Traditional Unemployment Insurance Claims May 17-23 |
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|
Total New Claims |
% Change (+/-) |
Total Weekly Claims |
% Change (+/-) |
State Benefits Paid |
% Change (+/-) |
$600 Stimulus Paid |
|
|
05/17/20 to 05/23/20 |
5,455 |
97,570 |
$26,427,924 |
$48,804,420 |
|||
|
Combined Benefits |
$75,993,123 |
||||||
|
Week over Week |
6,275 |
-13% |
101,389 |
-3.8% |
$26,858,365 |
-1.711% |
$48,667,041 |
|
Average Weekly 2019 |
1,131 |
382% |
8,856 |
1011.7% |
$2,876,354 |
819% |
|
|
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Claims May 17-23 |
Total Combined Claims March 15 to May 23, 2020 |
||||||
|
Total New Claims |
% Change (+/-) |
Total Benefits Paid |
% Change (+/-) |
Total Claims |
Total Benefits Paid |
||
|
05/17/20 to 05/23/20 |
2,278 |
$8,114,773 |
Traditional |
167,367 |
$458,751,943 |
||
|
Week over Week |
2,604 |
12.5% |
$5,688,924 |
42.6% |
PUA |
26,646 |
$19,155,356 |
The number of individuals who ended their unemployment insurance claim on May 16, 2020 was 9,772. A total of 6,583 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 have now received the same amount of claims in the last ten weeks that were filed over the previous three years, while successfully standing up all the federal stimulus benefits made available by the CARES Act,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “I can’t say enough about the staff and how hard they have worked to provide this critical benefit to those who desperately needed it.”
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%), Sales and Related Occupations (9%), and Management Occupations (8.7%).
The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of individuals file new unemployment insurance claims were Salt Lake (40%), Utah (15%), Davis (8.4%), Weber (7.7%), and Washington (3.5%).
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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