A surge in unemployment claims continued last week in Iowa as more workers lost their jobs due to the coronavirus.
The U.S. Department of Labor says 67,334 people in Iowa filed for unemployment benefits in the week that ended April 4th.
Iowa Workforce Development director Beth Townsend says that figure added to ongoing claims resulted in millions being paid out:
OC……….initial filing. :20
The claims were a 20 percent increase over those filed in Iowa the prior week, which had been a high for the state.
Townsend says thousands of calls are coming into her staff each day, and asks those calling to be patient with the delay in answering:
OC……….within 24 hours. :22
She also advises Iowans to not voluntarily quit their current jobs to try and cash in on the unemployment funding:
OC…………..unemployment insurance benefits. :12
Pandemic-related layoffs in several industries, from health care to food services, were driving factors behind Iowa’s claims.
Nebraska saw record unemployment yet again last week as the new coronavirus forced more businesses to lay off workers.
The U.S. Department of Labor says the state received 26,788 new unemployment claims during the week that ended April 4th.
The new numbers mark the third straight week with a record-setting increase.
The previous record of 24,725 was set in the prior week.
That number surpassed the earlier record of 15,700 new claims, which had been set the week before.
The South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation says unemployment claims once again surged in South Dakota last week with 7,916 people making new claims for unemployment help.
The number of new claims last week is more than 40 times the same number from a month ago.
People who successfully file for unemployment can also receive an additional $600 every week as part of a federal relief package.
