Idaho's weekly initial claims exceed total filed in 2019

BOISE – Idahoans filed more initial claims for unemployment benefits in the four weeks since the state of emergency was declared - 95,961 - than the total filed during all 2019 by 60 percent.

Initial claims for the week of April 11 filed from job losses due to the coronavirus slowed to 18,531 – down 40 percent from the week prior - but still a record for any week since 2013.

COVID-19 layoffs are affecting people of all ages, with young people ages 25 to 34 filing 26 percent of all claims. Women filed 53 percent of all initial claims last week.

Initial claims from laid-off employees for the accommodations and food services, health care and social assistance and retail trade represented nearly half – 46 percent – of the week’s total. The share of total claims for the manufacturing sector increased to almost 11 percent last week, steadily climbing over the past three weeks from 3.8 percent.

Approximately $17.5 million has been paid out in benefits between the weeks of March 8 and April 11.

Payouts for the most recent week of April 5 - 11 reached $9.2 million, 63 percent higher than the previous week, and five times higher than for the same week in 2019.

Weekly claims by county and industry sector are available on a new data dashboard found on the department’s labor market information website at https://lmi.idaho.gov/ui-weekly-claims