For Immediate Release
Date: November 19, 2020
Contact: Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations - cdle_pr@state.co.us
STATE LABOR DEPT: 9,171 REGULAR INITIAL UI CLAIMS
FILED FOR THE WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 14
Department is also highlighting employer support through workforce reduction assistance programs and help for workers including options to re-open UI claims
(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported that 9,171 regular initial unemployment claims were filed the week ending November 14th. Since mid-March, a total of 611,135 regular unemployment initial claims have been filed.*
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims for the week ending November 7th were revised down to 6,121 from 7,281. PUA initial claims for the week ending November 14th are not currently available, as CDLE continues to analyze PUA claim characteristics that may be contributing to the increase observed in recent weeks. Further revisions and updates can be expected in the coming weeks. Nationally, the PUA program has been inundated with fraud since its inception under the CARES Act.
For the week ending November 7th, a combined total of 224,076 continued claims were filed, including 86,142 from regular UI, 78,759 from PUA, and 59,175 from Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.**
The Department is also encouraging employers who may be facing a reduction to their workforce to explore programs including Work Share and Rapid Response. The Work-Share Program gives employers an alternative to laying off employees, allowing them to let employees keep working, but with fewer hours. While they are working fewer hours, they are eligible for partial regular unemployment benefits. For workers, they may either file an initial UI claims or, particularly for those in restaurant and hospitality industries, they may need to re-open their UI claims. All information can be found at coloradoui.gov.
Benefits paid since March 29:
Regular UI $2.24 Billion
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
(gig workers/self-employed) $793.3 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) $200.0 Million
State Extended Benefits
(extends unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks) $11.7 Million
Lost Wages Assistance
($300/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants) $378.6 Million
Total $6.12 Billion
Claims by industry and benefits paid
Benefits paid: Regular UI
Benefits paid: Regular UI
Week ending November 14: $32.4 Million
Top 10 industries with highest initial claims for week ending October 31st
#1 Accommodation and Food Services: 864 (16.9% of claims for week)
#2 Construction: 700 (13.7%)
#3 Administrative and Support and
Waste Management and Remediation Services: 518 (10.1%)
#4 Healthcare and Social Assistance: 450 (8.8%)
#5 Retail Trade: 434 (8.5%)
#6 Manufacturing: 303 (5.9%)
#7 Professional and Technical Services: 259 (5.1%)
#8 Transportation and Warehousing: 227 (4.4%)
#9 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: 206 (4.0%)
#10 Other Services: 192 (3.8%)
* 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.
COLORADO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CHARTS THROUGH WEEK ENDING NOVEMBER 7, 2020
# # #