For Immediate Release
Date: November 5, 2020
Contact: Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations - cdle_pr@state.co.us
STATE LABOR DEPT: 7,116 REGULAR INITIAL UI CLAIMS FILED FOR THE WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 31st
Note: Due to Veteran’s Day on November 11th, the next weekly UI Claims release will be on Friday, November 13th at 7:30 a.m.
(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 7,116 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending October 31st. There were also 3,625 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed for the same week. Since mid-March, a total of 594,481 regular unemployment initial claims have been filed and a grand total of 770,928 claims, including federal PUA benefits.*
For the week ending October 24th, a combined total of 207,795 continued claims were filed, including 96,078 from regular UI, 63,229 from PUA, and 48,488 from Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.**
Benefits paid since March 29:
Regular UI $2.17 Billion
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
(gig workers/self-employed) $738.0 Million
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
($600/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants) $2.49 Billion
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
(extends unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks) $162.1 Million
State Extended Benefits
(extends unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks) $378.3 Million
Lost Wages Assistance
($300/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants) $378.3 Million
Total $5.95 Billion
Claims by industry and benefits paid
Benefits paid: Regular UI
Week ending October 31: $36.6 Million
Top 10 industries with highest initial claims for week ending October 17th
#1 Accommodation and Food Services: 520 (13.1% of claims for week)
#2 Administrative and Support and
Waste Management and Remediation Services: 439 (11.0%)
#3 Construction: 425 (10.7%)
#4 Healthcare and Social Assistance: 424 (10.6%)
#5 Retail Trade: 384 (9.6%)
#6 Manufacturing: 280 (7.0%)
#7 Professional and Technical Services: 248 (6.2%)
#8 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: 188 (4.7%)
#9 Transportation and Warehousing: 175 (4.4%)
#10 Education Services: 159 (4.0%)
* Initial claims are claims filed to establish benefit eligibility. Initial claims are considered a reliable leading indicator of economic activity. All applications filed are those applications for benefits filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and may not have been through various eligibility determination e.g. wage verification, etc.
**Continued claims are filed to request payment for a given week after eligibility has been established. Weeks claimed provide information as to current labor market conditions.