Iowa Workforce Development reports initial unemployment insurance claims filed for week of April 25 – May 1, 2021
DES MOINES – The number of initial unemployment claims in Iowa, filed between Sunday, April 25, and Saturday, May 1, was 3,375, a decrease of 580 from last week’s adjusted numbers. There were 3,027 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 348 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state. The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims was 28,451, a decrease of 2,081 from the previous week. For the week ending May 1, 2021, nearly 54.2% of claimants indicated their claims were not COVID-19 related, which is an increase from 50.7% the previous week.
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Gov. Eric Holcomb plans to issue an executive order early next week to reinstate the work-search requirement for claimants of unemployment insurance benefits.
The rule, which was waived early during the coronavirus pandemic, requires people to actively search for work each week to remain eligible for benefits.
In a statement issued Friday evening, Holcomb said he asked the Indiana Department of Workforce Development to complete a demographic analysis of unemployed Hoosiers over the past 16 months.
That information would be use to help determine whether Indiana would continue to participate in federal unemployment programs. The analysis also would include a comparison of the state s current workforce versus its pre-pandemic workforce.
Gov. Eric Holcomb plans to issue an executive order early next week to reinstate the work-search requirement for claimants of unemployment insurance benefits.
Residents Still Awaiting Jobless Pay Despite ‘Fixed’ System
The New Jersey Labor Department said the transition to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program would be seamless for unemployment claimants, but many are still without pay after weeks.
May 06, 2021 •
But John Flynn was one of the people the Labor Department’s programming mistakenly excluded from the transition, and he was unable to certify as his claim showed up expired. After a week, the department said the issue had been resolved and claimants should continue certifying during open hours.
And while he’s been able to certify, Flynn hasn’t gotten his money in over two weeks. When he opens his claim, which is “unpayable,” it states in red letters that no action is needed on his behalf.
The number of new weekly filers for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than a year ago.
As of the end of last week, 4,472 new claims were filed with the Department of Labor and Employment, down from 5,825 for the week ending April 24.
Thatâs the lowest its been since the week ending Sept. 26, when 4,882 claims were filed. That compared to a high of more than 260,000 filers in the early weeks of the pandemic.
At the same time, the state recorded only 618 claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, also the lowest those claims have been in the weeks that program was available.