Iowa Workforce Development reports initial unemployment insurance claims filed for week of July 12 - July 18, 2020
DES MOINES - The number of initial claims in Iowa, filed between Sunday, July 12, and Saturday, July 18, was 9,505. There were 8,720 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 785 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state. The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims for July 12-18 was 116,810, a decrease of almost 18,000 from the previous week.
The U.S. Department of Labor adjusted last week’s initial claim number down to 10,653 (a decrease of 472) and continuing claims to 134,284 (a decrease of 2,752 for a total decrease of 3,224). Iowa Workforce Development relies upon the weekly data released by the U.S. Department of Labor to report its numbers and as such, adopts the revisions to the previously published data.
Unemployment insurance benefit payments totaled $31,755,710.09 for the week of July 12-18. The following industries had the most claims:
- Manufacturing (2,085)
- Industry Not Available - Self-employed, Independent Contractors, etc. (1,703)
- Health Care & Social Assistance (864)
- Retail Trade (599)
- Accommodation & Food Services (596)
A total of $85,603,350 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits was paid during the week of July 12-18, 2020. Since April 4, 2020, a total of $1,396,698,553 in FPUC benefits has been paid.
A total of $5,880,641 was paid in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits during the week of July 12-18, 2020.
A total of $3,506,721 in benefits has been paid in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits for the week of July 12-18, 2020. Since May 27, 2020, a total of $31,832,322.06 in PEUC benefits have been paid.
"The significant decrease in continuing claims from the prior week is a welcome bit of good news," said Beth Townsend, Director, Iowa Workforce Development. "While one week is not a trend, it is the biggest decline in continuing claims we have had in a single week since the beginning of the pandemic. We hope we continue to see similar declines in coming weeks as more and more Iowans return to work."
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits end July 25th in Iowa. This means the $600 weekly additional benefit will stop and at this time, no extension or change to the program has been made by Congress. Claimants will therefore see a corresponding decrease in their weekly benefit amount. Individuals who have exhausted the additional 13 weeks of PEUC benefits may be eligible for State Extended Benefits (EB) announced in June. Claimants should continue to file weekly claims so that their claims can be reviewed to determine eligibility for State EB. These benefits may provide eligible claimants up to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits. Not everyone who qualified for PEUC will be eligible for State EB. More information is available here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/state-extended-benefits
Employers are now required to notify their employees about Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in accordance with Iowa Administrative Code Section 871-22.19. The requirement ensures that workers are aware of the benefits they may be eligible for if they become unemployed or experience a reduction in hours.
Employees and employers who have questions regarding returning to work should review the Frequently Asked Questions for each group on our website. Assistance for employers can be found here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/sites/search.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/files/content-files/FAQs%20Employers%2006.16.20.pdf
Employees can find assistance here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/sites/search.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/files/content-files/FAQs%20Workers%2006.23.20.pdf
For more information on the total data for this week’s unemployment claims, please visit https://www.iowalmi.gov/unemployment-insurance-statistics
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