Iowa saw a record number of people file for unemployment as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Iowa Workforce Development reports there were 58-thousand-435 COVID-19 unemployment claims filed between March 22 and 28th.
Iowa State University economist David Swenson says that far outpaces unemployment during the Great Recession:
OC………twice as much” :11
Over 12-thousand of those claims came in the food and related services area.
Health care and manufacturing each saw more than seven-thousand claims, and there were nearly six-thousand in the retail sector.
Swenson says the total number of people who have lost jobs is likely even larger because not all workers who are laid off apply for unemployment.
The state paid nearly 14 million dollars in unemployment claims in the last week.
The federal CARES Act passed last week adds an additional 600 dollars per week to unemployment payments made by states.
It also makes more workers eligible, including people who are self-employed.
