Utah unemployment claims make unprecedented leap for third week
The Utah Department of Workforce Services’ Administrative Offices are pictured on Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Office assistant Nancy Robison cleans a countertop in the lobby of the Utah Department of Workforce Services’ Administrative Offices on Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
The Utah Department of Workforce Services saw a significant spike in the number of residents applying for unemployment insurance for the third week in a row.
According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the state received 33,290 weekly claims in the week ending on April 4. Additionally, over 33,076 new initial claims were filed with a 15.8% increase from the previous week’s numbers.
The department paid out $6.89 million in benefits to thousands of Utah residents across the state.
“We continue to receive new claims at an unprecedented level,” said Kevin Burt, director of the Unemployment Insurance Division. “Amidst this workload, the team stands out as one of the first states in the nation to make federal stimulus programs available. I am proud of their outstanding work and the critical resources they’re providing to Utahns.”
The industries that saw the largest impacts were office and administrative support, sales and related occupations, and personal care and service. Office and administrative support staff made up 12.9% of the unemployment claims, while sales employees made up 11.4% and personal care staff made up 10.2%.
For weeks, food service employees were the most impacted group according to self-reporting on the applications. In the previous week, food service employees made up 16.6% of initial unemployment insurance claims.
Utah County was second for counties with the highest number of unemployment insurance claims in the state, making up 14.8% of the claims.
Sale Lake County still leads the state in unemployment claims with 43.3% of the applications. Davis, Weber and Washington counties rounded out the top five with 9.1%, 7.6% and 5.3% of the claims, respectively.
On a national level, the U.S. Department of Labor saw its second-largest spike in history with another 6.6 million new initial unemployment insurance claims during the week ending on April 4.
The previous week’s numbers were adjusted to indicate 219,000 applicants who were not included in the initial numbers, showing an increase from 6,648,000 to 6,867,000 unemployment claims in the week ending on March 28.
Altogether, almost 17 million Americans have applied or are receiving unemployment insurance benefits, making up about 10% of the U.S. population.
State and federal employees are working to pass legislation that would offer relief through stimulus packages. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act was passed on a federal level to help healthcare companies, small businesses and individuals using $2 trillion that was set aside for stimulus packages.
Gov. Gary Herbert announced that Utah is one of the first states to make a $600 stimulus package available to be included in unemployment benefits. Those who receive unemployment benefits would see the $600 in their weekly payments as well as retroactively for payments that were received in the week ending on April 4.
Another option, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, makes benefits available for self-employed individuals and other non-traditional employees who aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits beginning next week. Those who apply should expect 21-30 days for the applications to process.
Unemployment claims can be filed online with the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Burt asks that individuals ensure their application is fully complete before submitting it and be patient as the department’s staff works to provide for the unprecedented amount of residents applying for benefits.
For those whose employment has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the department has made a web page to answer frequently asked questions, offer workshops twice each day, and help residents gather information to acquire a new job.