Idaho unemployment claims rise again

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-Idahoans filed 5,458 new claims for unemployment insurance benefits in the week ending July 11.   That is an increase of 11% over the previous week.

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, the overall number of people requesting a benefit payment dropped by 6% from the previous week to 28,766.  

About half of those filing claims were working in accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, manufacturing, and retail trade.  Nearly half were under the age of 34.  

The department has paid out $37.7 million in claims during the week.  Regular state unemployment benefits were $7.2 million, up from $6.8 million the previous week. 

Of the CARES Act programs, Pandemic Extended Unemployment Compensation payments (PEUC) were $1.6 million, with payouts for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) at $2.6 million and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) at $26.3 million. 

The benefit payments to laid-off Idahoans, attributed to COVID-19, have now exceeded half a billion dollars at $640 million.

You can see all of the latest statistics here.