DES MOINES, IOWA (April 2, 2020) — The number of initial claims in Iowa reported by the US Department of Labor, filed between Sunday, March 22, and Saturday, March 28 (a time period that reflects the increased number of claims filed related to COVID-19, including the broader group of individuals eligible for claims due to the virus) was 58,453. There were 55,963 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 2,490 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live out of state. A total of $13,724,985.87 of unemployment insurance benefits were paid to claimants who live and/or work in Iowa for the week ending on March 27.
The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims is 54,461.
The following industry-breakdown includes all (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) claimants counts for last week, knowing a majority of them are going to be COVID-19-related. This will be reflective of the other data included in the release:
- Accommodation and Food Services (12,519)
- Health Care and Social Assistance (7,490)
- Manufacturing (7,168)
- Retail Trade (5,888)
- Other Services (3,780)
Iowa Workforce Development continues to successfully process unemployment insurance claims in a timely fashion. IWD is not authorized to release these payments and it may be several weeks before these payments are made. Iowa Workforce Development encourages the public to visit www.IowaWorkorceDevelopment.gov to file for their initial and weekly unemployment insurance claim and for the most updated information on the CARES act benefits and payments. Considerable information regarding unemployment insurance eligibility and the latest updates are available.
Iowa Workforce Development continues to receive an unprecedented level of calls. We know waits of more than 15 minutes may occur. However, we are answering almost 80% of these calls, so remain on the line and we should get to your call prior to 4:30. You can also send an e-mail to uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov. We have been successful in answering most e-mails within 24 hours. Again, many of the questions can be answered by the information contained on our website. We will continue to provide as much assistance as possible to our fellow Iowans to ensure everyone who is eligible for benefits receives those benefits in a timely manner.
For more information on the total data for this week’s unemployment claims, please visit https://www.iowalmi.gov/unemployment-insurance-statistics.
