N.J. has now distributed more than $28B in unemployment benefits, Labor Dept. says Updated May 13, 2021; Another 13,389 new unemployment filings were received by the state Department of Labor for the week of May 7, the department announced Thursday. It’s a 4% decrease from the previous week, and the first time new filings dipped in three weeks. Applications for unemployment benefits tops 2,165,000 since last March, when the coronavirus pandemic led to massive layoffs. While the number of residents seeking jobless benefits remains higher than usual, it’s roughly a quarter of the claims filed for the same week in 2020. More than 260,000 claims have been reopened with the Labor Department, meaning the claimant is opening their claim after having returned to work for some time within the last year.