SALT LAKE CITY — Claims for unemployment benefits in Utah were down last week, but it could be low due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
The number of total new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 3,519 for the week of Nov. 22-28, 2020, with a total of $9,467,559 of benefits paid. There were 27,213 continued claims filed during that same week.
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The number of individuals who have not requested a benefit for two consecutive weeks as of Nov. 21, 2020, was 2,567. A total of 3,145 met the same criteria during the previous week.
“While we did see a marked decrease in the number of new unemployment claims for the week, this may be artificially low as a result of the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “The need for unemployment benefits remains, unfortunately the additional benefits provided by the CARES Act are set to expire on December 26, 2020, including the Pandemic Unemployment for the self-employed and the 13 week Extended Unemployment benefits.”