SALT LAKE CITY — The number of new claims filed for unemployment benefits in Utah was 11,830 for the week of April 19 to April 25, 2020.
Part of the Unemployment Insurance system is filing a weekly claim, there were 105,010 weekly claims filed during that same week.
A total of $22,647,841 was paid in traditional unemployment benefits reflecting payments going out and claims being processed in the midst of a record volume.
An additional $40,440,870 of the $600 weekly stimulus was paid out to claimants, for a total of $63,088,711 in unemployment benefits for the week.
A total of 7,316 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were submitted.
“A decreasing trend in new unemployment insurance claims continued this week though still at a record high compared to pre-pandemic volumes,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “We are encouraged and hopeful to hear from both employers and employees who are returning to work as restrictions begin lifting and assistance like PPP loans are available for employers.”
The number of individuals who ended their unemployment insurance claim on April 18, 2020 was 1,251. A total of 1,906 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.
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 (14%), Sales and Related Occupations (10.5%), and Food Preparation and Serving (9%).
The five counties in Utah that had the highest number of individuals file new unemployment insurance claims were Salt Lake (39.3%), Utah (14.3%), Davis (8.6%), Weber (7.8%), and Washington (3.7%).
If an individual's employment has been impacted by COVID-19 they should visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19 [jobs.utah.gov] for updated information. New information has been added to help employees and employers navigate the process of returning to work.
