Deseret News
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Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY Jobless claims are virtually steady in Utah as record numbers continue seeking benefits, a state agency reported Thursday morning.
It is a trend a state official says will likely continue because of the extended COVID-19 aid package passed by Congress at the end of 2020.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services said it processed 4,557 new claims for unemployment benefits for the week of Jan. 24 through Jan. 30. There were 34,752 continued claims filed during that same week, the report indicated. Related
A week earlier, 4,535 people filed for new jobless benefits. A year ago, just 1,131 had sought initial benefits, the agency report shows.
SALT LAKE CITY Despite low unemployment statewide, thousands of Utahns are still seeking financial help to get by.
That leads a Utah economist to conclude the state still has its work cut out for it to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. We ve already seen some permanent damage to the economy in the form of shuttered businesses, loss of productivity, etc. The longer it takes to vaccinate the population, the more permanent damage we ll incur, and the longer the recovery will take, Weber State University economics professor Andrew Keinsley said.
New data Thursday from the Utah Department of Workforce Services shows 4,535 people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week. An additional 32,462 filed continued claims. And while last week the state reported a 3.6% unemployment rate for December the fifth-lowest in the nation jobless numbers are still more than three times higher than this time last year, when just under 10,000 people filed for unemployment aid.
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