SALT LAKE CITY — The number of total new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 5,321 for the week of August 9 to August 15, 2020 with a total of $25,821,230 of benefits paid. There were 66,984 continued claims filed during that same week.
The number of individuals who have not requested a benefit for two consecutive weeks as of August 8, 2020 was 7,412. A total of 4,750 met the same criteria during the previous week.
“We are happy to announce that Utah was one of the first of seven states to apply for and be approved for the Lost Wages Assistance program, providing additional support for those receiving unemployment assistance,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “The funding is currently limited to $300 for a period of three weeks, but we chose to participate in order to ensure Utahns had access to the additional federal resources temporarily available.”
Lost Wages Assistance is only immediately available for three weeks from July 26, 2020, through August 15, 2020. Individuals are eligible if their weekly unemployment benefit amount was at least $100, they were eligible for one of the standard unemployment programs and they were unemployed or partially unemployed as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Benefits will be automatically calculated and distributed within four weeks based on unemployment claims received; individuals do not need to call or apply separately for this benefit.
Watch Burt's weekly briefing at 9:00 a.m. on the FOX 13 webpage and Facebook page.